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June 28, 2017 Minister of Advanced Education Government of British Columbia Dear Minister, We are pleased to submit the North Island College (NIC) Institutional Accountability Plan and Report for the 2016-2017 Reporting Cycle. This document has been prepared in accordance with the Accountability Framework Standards Manual and Guidelines 2016/167 Reporting Cycle for B.C.’s Public Post-Secondary Education System. It describes our institution’s achievements in 2016/17 measured against the Ministry’s required performance indicators. NIC launched our new 2016-2020 Strategic Plan in the fall of 2015. Plan 2020 addresses the College’s regional challenges and opportunities, and distinguishes our college’s role from other post-secondary institutions across the province. NIC faculty, staff, administration, and community members have worked together to learn about our communities’ needs, to understand our challenges, and to strategize the best ways to deliver programs and services in the next five years. The nine strategic priorities and 44 goals in Plan 2020 closely align with Government’s mandates and priorities - both NIC’s and the Government’s priorities together reinforce a focus on the needs of our students and communities. Government conveys its key issues and policy directives to post-secondary education institutions through an annual mandate letter. NIC’s 2016/17 Mandate Letter required the College to support the strategic priorities of Government such as:
• Develop and implement an updated Skills Gap Plan, in alignment with priorities in B.C.’s Skills for Jobs Blueprint;
• Continue to deepen B.C.’s talent pool; • Work in partnership with the Government and Aboriginal communities, organizations and
institutes to implement the Aboriginal Post-Secondary Education and Training Policy Framework and Action Plan;
• Continue to deliver on provincial priorities for international education; • Continue to actively participate in the development and implementation of a common application
system for all public post-secondary institutions in the province; • Meet or exceed the financial targets identified in the Ministry’s three-year service plan as tabled
under Budget 2016; and, • Continue to maximize the efficient use of public post-secondary administrative resources through
participation in the Administrative Service Delivery Transformation initiative. On behalf of North Island College, we convey to you our commitment and accountability for the College’s results and plans as presented within this document. Sincerely,
Derek Lamb Lisa Domae Chair, Board of Governors Acting President
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Contents
ACCOUNTABILITY STATEMENT ....................................................................................................................... i
STRATEGIC CONTEXT AND DIRECTION .......................................................................................................... 1
STRATEGIC CONTEXT ................................................................................................................................. 1
Institutional Overview ........................................................................................................................... 1
Student Population ................................................................................................................................ 4
Understanding the North Island ............................................................................................................ 8
Projections: Identifying Risks and Opportunities ................................................................................. 12
STRATEGIC DIRECTION ............................................................................................................................ 20
Mission, Vision and Values .................................................................................................................. 20
2016/17 Mandate Letter Priorities ...................................................................................................... 21
PERFORMANCE PLAN .................................................................................................................................. 34
NIC Plan 2020: 2016/17 Goals, Actions and Outcomes ........................................................................... 34
Strategic Priority #1: Student Experience and Success ........................................................................ 34
Strategic Priority #2: High Quality, Relevant, Responsive Curriculum & Programs ............................ 37
Strategic Priority #3: Access to Learning and Services Across the Region .......................................... 39
Strategic Priority #4: Aboriginal Education and Indigenization ........................................................... 41
Strategic Priority #5: International Education and Internationalization .............................................. 43
Strategic Priority #6: People, Organization and Culture ...................................................................... 45
Strategic Priority #7: Resources, Investment, Sustainability................................................................ 47
Strategic Priority #8: Active Connections to Community..................................................................... 49
Strategic Priority #9: College Identity and Brand ................................................................................. 52
Performance Measures, Targets and Results .......................................................................................... 55
FINANCIAL INFORMATION ........................................................................................................................... 60
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STRATEGIC CONTEXT AND DIRECTION
STRATEGIC CONTEXT
Institutional Overview
North Island College (NIC) is a comprehensive community college with a service area that spans approximately 80,000 km2 on central and northern Vancouver Island and parts of the B.C. mainland coast from Desolation Sound to Klemtu (see Figure 1). With 157,000 residents in its region, NIC serves the largest population of all B.C. rural colleges. The College is honoured to acknowledge operations within the traditional territories of 35 First Nations inclusive of the Nuu-chah-nulth, Kwakwaka’wakw and Coast Salish traditions.
Established in 1975 as a distance education institution serving rural and remote areas of central and northern Vancouver Island, the story of NIC is one of innovation, change, challenge, and success. The College began building permanent campuses in the 1990s and now operates four campuses in Campbell River, Comox Valley, Port Alberni and Mount Waddington. The College also operates a learning centre in Ucluelet.
NIC offers a full range of campus-based pathway programming as well as educational, financial aid, disability, counseling, and student advising services, including a dedicated Student Employment Services department that supports nationally accredited co-operative education programs. In keeping with its access-focused roots, NIC serves its diverse and geographically dispersed communities through technology-enabled distance learning and face-to-face in-community programming, which are based on specific local needs and delivered onsite at community and First Nations partners’ locations.
New developments in 2016/17 included funding for a $13.5M upgrade to NIC’s Campbell River campus and the launch of Library and Learning Commons spaces at the Comox Valley, Campbell River and Port Alberni campuses.
Site preparation for the Campbell River campus upgrade began in April 2017 with $11.5M in combined provincial and federal government funding ($5.75M each) and $2M provided by NIC. The project will include construction of a new trades training facility to replace the College’s aging Vigar Vocational Centre. NIC students will learn in 5,454 square metres of energy-efficient space that includes new teaching kitchens, heavy duty mechanics and aircraft structures shops; a simulation lab and mock homecare suite for practical nursing students; science labs; a student commons; redesigned library facilities; and an Aboriginal student lounge and study area. An additional 4,072 square metres in renovated space is also planned for the upgrade.
NIC launched new Library and Learning Commons spaces at the Comox Valley, Campbell River and Port Alberni campuses in 2016 fall term, welcoming over 14,000 students in the month of September. The Library and Learning Commons are vibrant spaces where students can access academic support services such as research, writing, math, peer tutoring, and information technology help. Flexible, collaborative
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and individual study spaces provide students with a rich learning environment where ideas are shared and learning is enhanced.
Figure 1, North Island College Region
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Institutional Structure Board of Governors NIC’s Board of Governors is empowered by B.C.’s College and Institute Act to manage, administer, and direct the affairs of the institution in the areas of property, revenue, expenditure, business, and other matters within the context of process and duties afforded it. The Board of Governors is made up of nine government appointed members, one elected faculty member, one elected staff member and two elected student members. The Chair of the Education Council and the President are ex-officio Board Members.
The Board’s primary responsibility is to oversee the strategic direction and management of the College and ensure it carries out its mission. To that end, the primary functions and roles of the Board are to establish the institution’s purpose and direction, to ensure the institution is effectively and efficiently managed, to establish policies that have institution-wide application, and to provide effective communication with the community.
Senior Leadership Team NIC’s President and CEO heads the College’s Senior Leadership Team, which has two primary responsibilities: 1) lead the educational and administrative functions of the College through the establishment of institutional priorities and directions; and 2) ensure institutional accountability and adherence to legislative and Ministry of Advanced Education policies and directives.
Employees There are three employee groups at NIC: instructors represented by the North Island College Faculty Association (NICFA); support staff represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), Local 3479; and administrative staff who are exempt from CUPE and NICFA membership.
The number of college employees increased from 402 in 2013 to 448 in 2016, while the distribution among employee groups remained nearly unchanged - just over half (irrespective of part-time or full-time status) are part of the faculty association; just over a third are CUPE; and just over a tenth are administrators in exempt positions. Across all groups, around three-fifths are full-time and two-fifths are part-time.
Two-thirds of all employees are based at the Comox Valley campus, one-fifth are based at the Campbell River campus, a tenth are based at the Port Alberni campus, and around 3% are based at the Mount Waddington campus.
Scholarships Established in 1991, the North Island College Foundation is a non-profit body with a primary objective of raising funds to support scholarships and bursaries and a secondary objective of fundraising for needed equipment and educational resources. Governed by a volunteer board of directors made up of community leaders from the College region, the Foundation actively seeks donations for the College.
In 2016/17 the NIC Foundation distributed student awards totaling $270,000. In 2017/18, the Foundation will provide $290,000 in scholarships and bursaries to students.
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Programs To meet the education and training needs of the region, NIC offers a broad range of programs tailored to the needs of current and future students. Programming includes: adult upgrading (including adult basic education, English language training and access for students with disabilities); university transfer; business; tourism; health care; fine arts; Aboriginal education; and Industry Training Authority (ITA) approved foundation trades, technical, and apprenticeship training. The College also offers a significant range of sector-specific training to support local industry and communities. NIC also hosts and supports ElderCollege, which provides lectures and courses on a wide range of topics at low cost for individuals 50 years of age and older (55+ at the Comox Valley Campus).
As shown in Figure 2, University Studies and Business and Tourism programs together constitute approximately one-quarter of NIC’s programming, Trades and Apprenticeships combined make up nearly one-third, Adult Upgrading makes up one-sixth, career programs and industry training make up just under one-sixth, and Nursing and Health Related programs make up just under one-tenth.
By working closely with our community, industry and educational partners, NIC ensures that programs and institutional resources are aligned with regional economic and labour market needs. NIC develops innovative ways to deliver responsive programming on a when-needed, where-needed basis. Curriculum, programs, and services that respond to the shifting occupational structure of the North Island region are continuously in development. Many of these programs are aimed at meeting the training needs of transitioning primary industry workers.
More information about NIC’s program offerings can be found online by visiting http://www.nic.bc.ca/programs/default.aspx. A complete list of NIC’s current Canadian post-secondary, international, community, and school district partnership agreements can be found online at http://www.nic.bc.ca/about_us/Partnership_Agreements.
Student Population
A total of 8,124 students took courses at NIC in 2016/17, with 4,384 students enrolled in credit courses and 3,740 students enrolled in only short-duration courses such as community education, first aid, marine or industry training. Figure 3 disaggregates enrolment by type of course (short duration or credit) and mode of delivery (campus-based, in-community and distributed learning).
The demographic characteristics of students at NIC has, over the last few years, been relatively stable in terms of median age and male-to-female ratio. The median age of students in credit courses in 2016/17 was 25 years and 60% were female (40% male). Students enrolled in short-duration, non-credit courses,
University Studies18%
Bus iness and Tourism
9%
Trades14%
Apprenticeships16%
Adult Upgrading16%
Fine Arts and Design 3%
Nurs ing and Health Related
9%
Career Programs and Industry Tra ining
15%
Figure 2, 2015/16 Full-Time Equivalent Enrolments in NIC’s Major Program Areas
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which tend to be interest-based or offer retraining for workers already in the labour market, had a median age of 39, with nearly equal numbers of females and males.
Figure 3, 2016/17 Unduplicated Headcount by Location and Course Type, NIC
Nine-tenths of NIC students are local residents of the College’s catchment area: the North Island and Central Coast. Half of the remaining students come from other parts of Vancouver Island. A growing international student population is enhancing cultural diversity at NIC from a global perspective.
As shown in Figure 3, of the 8,124 students who took courses at NIC, just under half took courses at the Comox Valley campus, around a quarter took courses at the Campbell River campus, just under a fifth engaged in distributed learning, just over a tenth took courses at the Port Alberni campus, 5% took courses at the Mount Waddington campus, and just under 4% accessed courses face-to-face in-community.
Aboriginal Students Students of self-declared Aboriginal ancestry make up 16% of NIC’s student population,1 exceeding the proportion of Aboriginal people living in the College’s service area (12%). As the map of First Nations and traditional territories below makes clear (see Figure 4), First Nations communities are located throughout the NIC region and many are not within commutable proximity to one of NIC’s four campuses. To increase access and relevance for Aboriginal learners, the College is committed to a regional delivery model of
1 As a percentage of total domestic student full-time equivalent enrolments.
0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000 8,000 9,000
College-wide TotalUnduplicated*
Comox Valley
Campbell River
Distributed Learning
Port Alberni
Mount Waddington
In-Community
College-wideTotal
Unduplicated*Comox Valley Campbell River Distributed
Learning Port Alberni MountWaddington In-Community
Non-Credit Course Headcount 3,740 1,618 1,354 289 455 234 192
Credit Course Headcount 4,384 2,274 884 1,269 530 152 103
Total Headcount 8,124 3,892 2,238 1,558 985 386 295
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education whereby programming and instruction are delivered face-to-face in Aboriginal communities in partnership with First Nations based on specific community economic and social needs.
Figure 4, First Nations Communities, North Island College Region
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International Students NIC hosted 377 international students from 36 countries in 2016/17, including India (193), China (53), Japan (42) and Zimbabwe (12). As a proportion of all students at NIC, international students grew from 3% in 2012/13 to 9% in 2016/17. Growth in international student headcount and FTEs over the past five years is shown in Figure 5.
Figure 5, NIC International Student Headcount in Credit Courses and FTEs, 2012/13 – 2016/17
International student enrolment has been concentrated in four main program areas for the past five years: university studies, business, English as a second language, and tourism. In 2016/17, 60% of international students took courses in university studies and business, 24% took courses in English as a Second Language, and 12% took courses in tourism.
Continuing Education Students A total of 4,486 students at NIC took at least one course offered through NIC’s Continuing Education and Training department in 2016/17. This means that more than half (55%) of NIC students accessed continuing education and training courses, many of whom are taking academic credit programs. The vast majority of students enrolled in non-credit general interest, ElderCollege, short-term vocational, and first aid courses; however, 282 students were also enrolled in credentialed programming offered through NIC’s Continuing Education and Training department.
143
195
277
326
377
104.11
152.54
226.18
270.10 280.88
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17
Credit Course Headcount FTEs
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Understanding the North Island
North Island College serves a region that is slowly recovering economically from years of decline in the natural resource sectors that historically dominated local economies. Many communities within the North Island College Region (NICR) continue to face challenging socio-economic conditions, but growth in industrial sectors like aquaculture and energy and service sectors like tourism and health are leading a slow but steady resurgence in population and opportunities. The relative decline of the timber industry and related wood processing jobs2 is still felt across the north island and nearby coastal regions. Closures of sawmills and pulp and paper mills reduced tax revenue and jobs. While many people chose to remain in their communities, and things are improving, income remains suppressed compared to the provincial average, educational attainment remains relatively low, and social issues remain relatively high.
Historic Population Trends Based on 2016 Census data provided by Statistics Canada,3 there was an overall increase in the population of the NICR between 2011 and 2016 from 154,919 to 156,533 while the province as a whole grew slightly. Stability in population exists in some regio nal districts and communities, but others are experiencing decline. In particular, some pulp-and-paper and/or extractive dependent communities like Port Alice and Port McNeill have experienced declines in their overall population. This pattern is not uniform across natural-resource dependent communities and regions, however, with Campbell River growing modestly. Tofino, a key tourist destination, grew around 3% between 2011 and 2016.
Population changes for regional districts (RD) within the NICR between 2011 and 2016 were as follows: Comox Valley RD grew by just under 3,000 people to approximately 66,500; Strathcona RD grew by 1,400 people to around 44,700; Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District (RD) was virtually unchanged at around 31,000 people; Mount Waddington RD declined by 470 people to 11,000; and Central Coast RD grew very slightly to just over 3,300 people.
Aboriginal Population According to the 2011 National Household Survey, there are just over 17,000 people who identify as Aboriginal living in the NIC Region (NICR), which includes over 14,000 First Nations and around 3,000 Métis.4 Significantly higher than the provincial average of around 5%, Aboriginal people account for about 12% of the NICR population. Compared with other B.C. rural college regions, the NICR is lower than Northwest (30%), about the same as Northern Lights (14%) and New Caledonia (13%), and higher than the College of the Rockies (6%) and Selkirk (4%).5
The Aboriginal population in the NICR is younger than the overall average as of 2011, with 18-24 year-olds making up around 11% of the Aboriginal population and 9% of the overall population.
2 Preston, D. & Baikie, S. (2010. Forestry in Transition. Campbell River: NIEFS. Retrieved from www.niefs.net/Transitioning_Forestry_Sector_%20Jan2011.pdf on June 9, 2015. 3 Statistics Canada (2016). B.C. Regional District Population Estimates 2011-2016. Retrieved from http://www.bcstats.gov.bc.ca/StatisticsBySubject/Census/2016Census/PopulationHousing/MunicipalitiesByRegionalDistrict.aspx on March 11, 2017. 4 Data for 2011 are based on the National Household Survey. Retrieved from http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/index-eng.cfm on June 5, 2015. 5 BC Stats (2012). College Region 11 – North Island: Statistical Profile. Retrieved from http://www.bcstats.gov.bc.ca/StatisticsBySubject/SocialStatistics/SocioEconomicProfilesIndices/Profiles.aspx on June 6, 2015.
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In relation to the regional districts (RD) within the NICR, the largest number of Aboriginal people live in the Alberni-Clayoquot RD (5,130) and then Strathcona RD (4,640) where they comprise 17% and 10% of the respective regional populations.
Socio-Economic Conditions in the North Island College Region Overall Regional Socio-Economic Index The Overall Regional Socio-Economic Index (ORSEI),6 a tool created by BC Stats using data from the 2006 Census and the 2011 National Household Survey, presents specific indices around economics, children, youth, crime, health, and education, and then combines these into a meta-index. The ORSEI—which was last updated in 2012 and is available for regional districts (RDs), local health areas, and school districts—indicates variation within the NICR that largely mirrors natural resource dependence and decline over the last few decades.
Comox-Strathcona (combined into one region in the indices)7 experiences more desirable socio-economic conditions and is near the top of regional districts in the province (6 of 26). Mount Waddington (22 of 26) and Alberni-Clayoquot (24 of 26) face far more challenges and are near the bottom. The latter two RDs are near the bottom of all the topical indices that make up the ORSEI. Central Coast was not included because of small population numbers.
Income Income data from the 2011 National Household Survey, the most recent available, shows the average family income in the NICR is $72,299, well below the provincial average of $91,967. Within the NICR there exists significant unevenness in average family income. According to 2011 data,8 Mount Waddington, Comox Valley, and Strathcona have the highest average family income while Central Coast, at around $60,000, has the lowest. Individual income within the NICR’s regional districts follows a similar pattern.
Unemployment and Employment Insurance Recent Statistics Canada data finds unemployment in the “Southern Coastal” region9 was 7.0% in February of 2017,10 substantially higher than the provincial rate of 5.1% at that time. Reflective of higher unemployment rates, the proportion of people receiving employment insurance benefits in the NIC region is much higher compared with the province. As of February 2017, the percentage of individuals in the NICR receiving employment insurance was 2.4% while the percentage in B.C. was 1.3%.11
6 BC Stats (2017). RD Indices Reports. Retrieved from http://www.bcstats.gov.bc.ca/StatisticsBySubject/SocialStatistics/SocioEconomicProfilesIndices/SocioEconomicIndices/RDReports.aspx on January 18, 2017. 7 BC Stats retains the Comox-Strathcona aggregation for historical comparability. The Comox-Strathcona Regional District was split in 2008 into the Comox Valley Regional District and the Strathcona Regional District. 8 Data for 2011 are based on the National Household Survey. Retrieved from http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/index-eng.cfm on June 5, 2015. 9 The “Southern Coastal” region includes Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District, Capital Regional District, Comox-Strathcona Regional District, Cowichan Valley Regional District, Fraser Valley Regional District, Nanaimo Regional District, Powell River Regional District, Squamish-Lillooet Regional District and Sunshine Coast Regional District. 10 Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. Unemployment Rates for the EI Economic Regions. Retrieved from http://srv129.services.gc.ca/rbin/eng/rates.aspx?id=2016#data on March 20, 2017. 11 Statistics Canada (2017) Regular Employment Insurance Beneficiaries. Retrieved from http://www5.statcan.gc.ca/cansim/a26?lang=eng&id=2760035 on May 1, 2017.
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Occupational Composition in the NICR Jobs in the North Island College region (NICR)12 are dominated by occupations in sales and service (around a quarter) and trades, transport and equipment operators (around a fifth). This pattern is slowly shifting, however, as these two areas shrunk about 13% each between 2006 and 2011 while health related occupations grew by 27%.13
The most recent occupational data for the five regional districts (RDs) within the NICR is 2011. Total employment is dominated by the Comox Valley RD (CVRD), with just under thirty thousand people in the labour force as of 2011. The Strathcona RD (SRD) includes almost twenty thousand people in the labour force. Alberni-Clayoquot RD (ACRD) has a labour force of just under thirteen thousand, Mount Waddington RD (MWRD) is just over five thousand, and the Central Coast RD (CCRD) is just over one thousand.
Composition of the labour force is relatively similar across the regional districts. Sales and service occupations are largest in all RDs except Mount Waddington. Trades, transport and equipment operator occupations are under a fifth for all RDs. Management occupations and business, finance and administrative occupations are both just over a tenth in all RDs. Occupations in education, law and social, community and government services account for only a tenth of all jobs in ACRD, CVRD and SRD, but play a more major role in MWRD and CCRD.
Educational Attainment Both high school graduation rates and post-secondary completion rates in NIC’s catchment area have historically been much lower than provincial rates. The most current data, however, suggest that a higher percentage of 18-year-olds are graduating from high school in the NICR. Data from 2007/08 show that 37% of 18-year-olds did not graduate high school in the NICR versus 26% for the province. Newer data indicate that between 2009/10 and 2011/12 the non-graduation rate in the region fell to 26%, on par with the provincial rate. Nonetheless, considerable variation continues to exist across the region’s communities, with substantially higher non-graduation rates in rural and remote areas.
Post-secondary completion rates remain low in the NICR with 41% of 25-64-year-olds having no post-secondary credentials compared with 35% provincially in 2011. The following subsections provide further, currently available comparative data for high school attainment and post-secondary non-completion.14
High School Attainment: B.C. College Regions and NICR School Districts The high school non-completion rate of 18-year-olds in the NICR is nearly identical to the provincial average of 26%. Compared with other rural college regions, NICR’s high school non-completion rate of just under 26% is lower than the Northwest (35%) and Northern Lights (41%), but higher than the Rockies (21%) and Selkirk (16%). Within the NICR, secondary school non-completion tends to be greater (i.e., worse) in small, remote, and/or economically struggling communities. For example, among school districts, average non-completion rates for the 2009/10 to 2011/12 period were 20% for Comox Valley and 21% for Campbell River. These rates contrast with higher school non-completion in the other school
12 Data for 2011 are based on the National Household Survey. Retrieved from http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/index-eng.cfm on May 14, 2014. 13 Occupational data for the 2016 Census are not currently available; they are scheduled for release on November 29, 2017. 14 Data for 2011 is based on the National Household Survey. Retrieved from http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/index-eng.cfm on June 5, 2015.
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districts in NIC region, including Alberni (38%), the Central Coast (49%), and Vancouver Island North (35%).15
Post-Secondary Non-Completion: NICR Regional Districts Social science research has firmly established that children of parents with post-secondary schooling are much more likely to both attend and graduate from post-secondary themselves,16 a fact important to recruitment, enrolment, and long-term planning at NIC. Examining regional districts (RD) within the NIC region, levels of post-secondary educational attainment are uneven. The 2011 National Household Survey found that the percentage of the 25-64-year-olds who have no post-secondary credential is over half in the Central Coast RD, around half in the Mt. Waddington RD and the Alberni-Clayoquot RD, over 40% in the Strathcona RD, and just over a third in the Comox Valley RD.17
Composite Index of Education BC Stats creates a Composite Index of Education (CIE)18 for regional districts, local health areas, and school districts. The current index combines data from the 2006 Census with the 2011 National Household Survey. The CIE19 uses: the percentage of the entire population who haven’t completed high school; post-secondary non-completion rates of 25-64-year-olds; high school non-completion rates of 18-year-olds; Grade 12 provincial exam non-completion (Math, Chemistry, and English); the percentage of Grade 4 students below standard in reading, writing, and math. Provincially, the regional districts (RDs) in the NICR range from slightly above the middle (Comox-Strathcona) to near the bottom (Alberni-Clayoquot, at 21 out of 26, and Mount Waddington, at 23 out of 26). Central Coast was not included because of small numbers.
15 BC Stats (2012). School Districts 49, 70, 71, 72, 85. Retrieved from http://www.bcstats.gov.bc.ca/StatisticsBySubject/SocialStatistics/SocioEconomicProfilesIndices/Profiles.aspx on June 9, 2015. Note that no data are available for Vancouver Island West. 16 Statistics Canada (2011). Intergenerational education mobility. Retrieved from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11-008-x/2011002/article/11536-eng.htm March 19, 2017. 17 Data for 2011 is based on the National Household Survey. Retrieved from http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/index-eng.cfm on June 5, 2015. 18 BC Stats (2015). RD Indices Reports. Retrieved from http://www.bcstats.gov.bc.ca/StatisticsBySubject/SocialStatistics/SocioEconomicProfilesIndices/SocioEconomicIndices/RDReports.aspx on May 21, 2015. 19 The index is weighted. The measures are listed in order of their weighting.
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Projections: Identifying Risks and Opportunities
Long-Term Demographic Recovery
Projected Population Change Between 2018 and 2023 the population of the North Island College region (NICR)20 is expected to increase by about 6,000 people (4.0%). Data in Table 1 suggest that population growth is anticipated for all regional districts in the NICR. The Comox Valley and Strathcona regional districts (RDs) are expected to grow by approximately 4,000 and 1,500 people (6.0% and 3.0%), respectively. Alberni-Clayoquot RD is expected to grow by just under 600 people and has the lowest projected rate of growth (1.9%). Mount Waddington RD is expected to grow by just under 400 people (3.3%) and Central Coast RD is expected grow by approximately 130 people (4.0%).
NICR Population Projections by Age Group Like the rest of the province, the NICR’s population structure is aging, with those 65+ increasing as a proportion of the total population. The proportion of 18-24-year-olds, the traditional demographic for post-secondary education, is expected to shrink proportionally in the NICR from 8% in 2018 to 7% in 2023. In actual numbers, 18-24-year-olds will shrink by 2023 from around 12,200 to around 11,200, a drop of about 8%.21
For 18-24 year-olds, the Comox Valley is expected to decrease by 8% (400 individuals) to around 4,600; Strathcona is expected to decrease by 8% (270 individuals) to around 3,200; Alberni-Clayoquot is expected to drop approximately 11% (292 individuals) to around 2,200; Mount Waddington RD is expected to increase by 4% to approximately 940; and the Central Coast will decline around 3% to 230.
School District Enrolment The overall number of K-12 students in the NICR is expected to begin a slow recovery after declining over the last decade.22 As Figure 6 suggests, projections show a slight decrease in secondary student (grades 8-12) enrolment in 2017/18 followed by modest growth to 2025/26. Elementary student (grades K-7) enrolment is expected to remain fairly consistent until 2023/24 and then increase slightly to 2025/26.
20 BC Stats table from P.E.O.P.L.E. 2016. Retrieved from http://bcstats.gov.bc.ca/StatisticsBySubject/Demography/PopulationProjections.aspx on December 20, 2016 21 Custom table created by BC Stats using P.E.O.P.L.E. 2016. 22 B.C. Ministry of Education (March, 2017). Projection Report for Public School Headcount Enrolments: 2015/16. Retrieved January 6, 2017, from http://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/education/administration/resource-management/capital-planning/archive/1558b-2015.pdf
Table 1, NICR Population Projections, 2018-2023
2018 2023 # Change % ChangeAlberni-Clayoquot 30,491 31,060 569 1.9%Central Coast 3,340 3,474 134 4.0%Comox Valley 66,983 70,791 3,808 5.7%Mount Waddington 11,606 11,990 384 3.3%Strathcona 46,480 47,932 1,452 3.1%NICR Total 158,900 165,247 6,347 4.0%BC Total 4,861,322 5,151,824 290,502 6.0%
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Enrolment by School District NIC generally draws students from six school districts (SDs): Central Coast (SD 49), Alberni (SD 70), Comox Valley (SD 71), Campbell River (SD 72), Vancouver Island West (SD 84), and Vancouver Island North (SD 85).23 Districts vary significantly in size with nearly half of all students in the NIC catchment area enrolled in the Comox Valley. About a quarter are enrolled in Campbell River, about a fifth are enrolled in Alberni, and much smaller numbers come from Vancouver Island West, Vancouver Island North, and Central Coast.
Figure 7 shows enrolment for the individual school districts. Rates of growth and decline are uneven across the six school districts. Among the bigger districts it is expected that only Comox Valley will experience significant growth. Campbell River is predicted to decline slightly over the next couple of years and then recover to current levels while Alberni is expected to increase slightly over current levels.
23 B.C. Ministry of Education (March 2014). Projection Report for Public School Aged Headcount Enrolments (excludes adults): 2013/14. Retrieved from http://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/education/administration/resource-management/capital-planning/archive/1558b-2015.pdf on January 16th, 2017. .
Figure 6, Aggregated Enrolment, School Districts in the North Island College Region
0
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10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
Student Enrollment
North Island College Region: Aggregated Enrolment Across School Districts
Total Elementary Secondary
Actual Projections
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Among the smaller districts, Central Coast and Vancouver Island West are predicted to stay at current levels while Vancouver Island North is expected to decline slightly from current levels.
Economic Resurgence The value of building related activity in the NICR grew substantially between 2015 and 2016—from around 215,000 permits to around 286,000 permits. However, when 2016 is compared to the boom years between 2005 and 2008, building related activity remains suppressed. As of December 31, 2016, the NICR remains 25% down from its 2006 peak while the broader Vancouver Island / Coast Development Region (VICR)24 continues its recovery and is now 8% above 2006 levels.25 The province as a whole has moved from recovery to growth and is now almost 15% above 2006 levels. Nationally, building related activity continues a steady ascent, despite a downturn during the last recession, and is nearly 30% above 2006 levels.
The regional disaggregation of value-of-building-projects within the NICR reveals the unevenness of decline seen since 2006. The Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District remains down by nearly 40% compared to 2006. The Mount Waddington Regional District experienced a sharp decline in 2016 and is down over 30% from 2006. Data for the Strathcona Regional District and the Comox Valley Regional District are unavailable prior to 2009 as they were formerly aggregated as the Comox-Strathcona Regional District;
24 The VICR aggregates the NIC College region with the South-Central Coast and South Island, including Victoria and Nanaimo to form the second largest development region in B.C. by population. 25 BC Stats (2016). Building Permits, Housing Starts and Sales. Retrieved from http://bcstats.gov.bc.ca/StatisticsBySubject/Economy/BuildingPermitsHousingStartsandSales.aspx on March 15, 2017.
Figure 7, K-12 Enrolment by School District, North Island College Region
0
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2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
7,000
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9,000
K-12 Enrolment: NICR by School District
SD49 (Central Coast) SD70 (Alberni)
SD71 (Comox Valley) SD72 (Campbell River)
SD84 (Vancouver Island West) SD85 (Vancouver Island North)
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however, between 2009 and 2016, the value-of-building-projects in the Strathcona Regional District is up substantially by 45% and the Comox Valley Regional District is dramatically higher by 64%.26
Construction Projects The Government of B.C.’s Major Project Inventory27 indicates a broad range of public and private sector initiatives in the Vancouver Island/Coast economic development region including Yates on Yates condominium in Victoria; Vancouver Island University Trades Complex; Front Street Hotel in Nanaimo; Cowichan Operations & Maintenance Compressed Natural Gas (O&M CNG) facility; and Campbell River O&M CNG Facility. Two major projects were completed in the fourth quarter of 2016: Horsey GIS Replacement Program and Janion Hotel Redevelopment. Four major projects began construction in the fourth quarter of 2016 with total capital costs of $107M. The Senior Care Complex in Saanich is expected to be completed in 2017, followed by Pacific Landing at Havenwood in 2018, Georges P. Vanier Secondary School in August 2019 and the Condominium Development at Johnson Street in Victoria in the Spring of 2019.
Two major hospital projects are currently underway in Comox Valley (Courtenay, co-located with the NIC campus) and Campbell River which are scheduled to be completed and accepting patients by the fall of 2017. The 153-bed Comox Valley Hospital in Courtenay will cost $331.7M and will comprise a total of 428,700 square feet. In Campbell River, the 95-bed, 348,000-square-foot hospital will cost $247.5M. The two projects created a total of 1,900 direct jobs for 145 trades during the 2016 construction period. Overall, 375 direct jobs were involved in construction, with numbers having peaked in 2016 at 675, according to project documents.
Construction on the John Hart Generating Station Replacement in Campbell River began in 2014 spring and is expected to be completed by 2018/2019. As of December 2016, excavation of the power tunnel has reached approximately 60% completion and the first stage in the powerhouse is over 75% complete. Along with the North Island Hospital Project, the John Hart Generating Station forecasted Summer 2016 to be the peak hiring time over the life of the projects.
26 The Comox-Strathcona Regional District was split into the Comox Regional District and Strathcona Regional District on February 15, 2008. 27 Government of B.C. (December 2016). B.C. Major Projects Inventory. Retrieved from http://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/employment-business-and-economic-development/economic-development/industry/mpi/mpi-2016/mpi_report_q4_2016.pdf on March 30, 2017
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Occupational Opportunities By 2025, the Government of B.C. expects 934,000 job openings between 2015 and 2025. 28 Approximately 70% of these job openings will come from retirements and deaths with the remaining 30% from new jobs. The Province projects that supply will exceed demand of labour; however, the gap is expected to narrow in the final few years of the period with supply exceeding demand by just thousands by 2025.
More than three quarters of the openings projected to 2025 will require some post-secondary education and training. As shown in Figure 8, the largest share, 42 percent, will likely be occupations requiring a diploma, certificate or apprenticeship training (National Occupational Classification Skill Level B). The second largest share, 36 percent, will be in occupations that require a bachelor’s, graduate or first professional degree and/or significant work experience.
A long-term labour market outlook (through 2025) is not available for the North Island College Region (NICR) but is available for the larger Vancouver Island / Coast development region (VICR), of which the NICR is a part. The VICR aggregates the NICR with the South-Central Coast and South Island, including Victoria and Nanaimo, to form the second largest development region in B.C. by population. The number of projected job openings in the VICR, just under 148,000, is also second highest in the province, behind only the Mainland / Southwest development region (which includes Vancouver). Similar to the province as a whole, approximately 30% of the VICR job openings will be new jobs resulting from economic growth while approximately 70% will be from retirements or deaths. The 148,000 job openings will account for just under a fifth of all job openings across the province.
Growth in employment demand for the VICR is projected to increase by an annual average 1.1%, on par with the provincial average. Within the VICR, the ten occupations forecast to expand the fastest29 through 2025 (i.e., those jobs having the highest annual average employment demand growth) include: underground production and development miners; ground and water transport ticket agents, cargo service representatives and related clerks; engineer officers, water transport; computer programmers and interactive media developers; water transport deck and engine room crew; software engineers and designers; web designers and developers; boat and cable ferry operators and related occupations;
28 WorkBC (2016). British Columbia 2025 Labour Market Outlook. Retrieved from https://www.workbc.ca/getmedia/00de3b15-0551-4f70-9e6b-23ffb6c9cb86/LabourMarketOutlook.aspx on February 5, 2017. 29 Does not include health occupations.
Figure 8, Ten-Year Total Job Openings by Education Requirements
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information systems analysts and consultants; and customer service representatives – financial institutions.
The largest industries by employment include: health care and social assistance, wholesale and retail trade, and construction. The five industries projected to grow the fastest include: water transportation; mining; computer systems design and related services; truck transportation; and performing arts, spectator sports and related industries.30
Figure 8 shows that job openings in the VICR, organized by broad, two-digit National Occupational Classification system (NOC) categories,31 are projected to be dominated by six occupational areas: 1) sales and services; 2) business, finance and administration; 3) education, law and social, community and government services; 4) management; 5) trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations; and 6) health.
30 Does not include health industries. 31 For more information on the NOC, see: http://www5.hrsdc.gc.ca/NOC/English/NOC/2011/Welcome.aspx. From the NOC website: “The National Occupational Classification (NOC) is the nationally accepted reference on occupations in Canada. It organizes over 40,000 job titles into 500 occupational group descriptions.”
Figure 9, Projected Job Openings in the VICR through 2025
1,857
2,567
4,705
10,468
16,862
19,334
20,544
20,633
23,561
27,422
0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000 30,000
Occupations in manufacturing and utilities
Natural resources, agriculture and related productionoccupations
Occupations in art, culture, recreation and sport
Natural and applied sciences and related occupations
Health Occupations
Trades, transport and equipment operators and relatedoccupations
Management Occupations
Occupations in education, law and social, community andgovernment services
Business, finance and administration occupations
Sales and service occupations
VICR Job Openings, 2016-2025
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Looking at job openings by the type of education and/or training necessary Figure 9 suggests that just under 50,000, or a third of all openings, in the VICR will demand College education or apprenticeship training. Another third will demand university education. About a quarter will require high school and/or occupation-specific training; just under one tenth will need only on-the-job training.
Table 2 breaks out jobs for the VICR at the most detailed four-digit NOC levels, grouping occupations by type and level of education and then ranking them within those groupings by number of job openings through 2025. The table then provides wage data for each occupation, based on 2015 data from the Employment and Social Development Canada (ESCD) Job Bank.
What emerges from the projections is a region with a diverse and relatively balanced occupational mixture. Wage continues to correlate with education level and, like the provincial scenario, the vast majority of job openings (just under 70%) will require a post-secondary credential. Reflecting the findings on job openings at the two-digit NOC level, job openings in the VICR will be dominated by occupations linked to retail sales and wholesale trade, including managers and salespeople. Among occupations demanding college-level education or apprenticeship training—skill level B—job openings will be highest for carpenters followed by social and community service workers, accounting technicians and bookkeepers, cooks, and early childhood educators and assistants.
Figure 10, Projected VICR Job Openings by Level / Type of Education through 2025
12,137
35,138
48,424
52,254
0 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000 60,000
On-the-job training is usually provided foroccupations
Occupations usually require secondaryschool and/or occupation-specific training
Occupations usually require collegeeducation or apprenticeship training
Occupations usually require universityeducation
VICR Job Openings by Education through 2025
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Table 2, Occupations with the Largest Number of Job Openings (4 digit NOC) in the VICR through 2025
SKILL LEVEL NOC OCCUPATION32 EXPANSION REPLACEMENT JOB OPENINGS WAGE
LEVEL 0: ❒ Usually requiring combination of education and experience
0621 Retail and wholesale trade managers 1,270 3,530 4,800 $19.71
0121 Insurance, real estate and financial brokerage managers*
170 1,030 1,200 $43.27
0711 Construction managers 250 870 1,120 $39.00
0631 Restaurant and food service managers 340 780 1,110 $19.71
0632 Accommodation service managers 210 480 690 $20.19
LEVEL A: ❒ Usually requiring a Bachelor’s, Graduate or First Professional Degree
4032 Elementary school and kindergarten teachers
990 1,780 2,780 $34.62
2171 Information systems analysts and consultants 710 980 1,690 $35.90
4031 Secondary school teachers 540 970 1,520 $35.10
2174 Computer programmers and interactive media developers
660 620 1,280 $35.00
1111 Financial auditors and accountants 220 1,050 1,270 $28.85
LEVEL B: ❒ Usually requiring diploma, certificate or apprenticeship training
7271 Carpenters 730 1,750 2,480 $24.00
4212 Social and community service workers 910 1,530 2,440 $19.00
1311 Accounting technicians and bookkeepers 310 1,510 1,820 $19.50
6322 Cooks 760 880 1,640 $13.25
4214 Early childhood educators and assistants 520 1,110 1,620 $16.75
LEVEL C: ❒ Usually requiring secondary school and/or occupation-specific training
6421 Retail salespersons 2,420 3,340 5,750 $12.00
1411 General office support workers 630 1,500 2,130 $20.51
1414 Receptionists 760 1,220 1,980 $18.00
7511 Transport truck drivers 490 1,460 1,950 $23.50
4412 Home support workers, housekeepers and related occupations
640 1,190 1,830 $18.27
LEVEL D: ❒ Usually requiring on-the-job training
6733 Janitors, caretakers and building superintendents
550 1,540 2,090 $17.00
6611 Cashiers 1,140 850 1,980 $11.00
6731 Light duty cleaners 700 1,270 1,970 $14.75
6711 Food counter attendants, kitchen helpers and related support occupations
1,210 720 1,930 $10.80
6622 Store shelf stockers, clerks and order fillers 660 440 1,090 $12.00
32 Data source for wage: ESDC Job Bank median hourly wage for Vancouver Island/Coast updated in 2015 unless otherwise noted. For occupations with a "*", median hourly wage for B.C. is provided as wage data for these occupations are not available for Vancouver Island / Coast. Health Occupations are not included. Table 2 does not include Top High Opportunity Health Professions.
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STRATEGIC DIRECTION Mission, Vision and Values
The foundation of North Island College’s success is our commitment to our students and communities. Our vision, mission, and values all stem from a commitment to empowering students and a dedication to embracing our role as a community capacity builder.
Vision NIC holds a vision of being a premier community and destination College, in a spectacular west-coast environment that inspires and prepares students for success in a rapidly changing world. NIC will fulfill its vision by being:
• a vibrant community of learners – embracing their goals and shaping their worlds; • a gateway to education, work, and life; • a central force in improving the cultural and socio-economic well-being of the communities we
serve; and • a respectful steward of our unique natural setting.
Together, we will create a workplace that inspires personal growth and delivers results to our students, partners, and citizens.
Mission NIC is committed to meeting the education and training needs of adults within its service region by: providing high quality, affordable higher education and skills training, collaborating with our partners to create pathways to learning and empowering individuals to achieve their full potential.
Values NIC’s values are the cornerstone of our organizational culture. All employees are aware of the College’s values and incorporate them into their work at NIC.
Student success - We empower students to become self-reliant, lifelong learners capable of integrating what they learn with how they live and work.
Access – We ensure access to learning opportunities, regardless of geographic, technological, financial, social, educational or historic barriers.
Accountability – Our individual and organizational performance fosters public trust and community confidence.
Quality – We are committed to continuous improvement and achieving the highest quality possible.
Relevance and responsiveness – We provide learning opportunities that are relevant to the lives and work of our students and delivered in a creative, flexible, timely and collaborative manner.
Positive organizational culture – Ours is an organizational culture that operates in an open and honest manner, is based on mutual trust and respect, values creativity and risk taking, encourages innovative and strategic thinking, and affirms excellence.
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Social and environmental responsibility – We are actively engaged in the economic and social development of our communities and are active stewards of the unique natural environment in which we reside.
2016/17 Mandate Letter Priorities
The B.C. Government annually conveys its key issues and policy directives to post-secondary education institutions through an annual mandate letter. The mandate letter is signed by all members of the North Island College Board of Governors and acknowledges the Board’s statutory obligations to act in the best interests of the College and affirms compliance to Government’s Taxpayer Accountability Principles33 in exercising the Board’s duties. North Island College’s 2016/17 Mandate Letter requires NIC to consider the following strategic priorities of Government when allocating institutional resources:
• Develop and implement an updated Skills Gap Plan, in alignment with the priorities in B.C.’s Skills for Jobs Blueprint;
• Work in partnership with the government and Aboriginal communities, organizations and institutes to implement the Aboriginal Post-Secondary Education and Training Policy Framework and Action Plan to increase the participation and success of Aboriginal learners;
• Continue to deliver on the goals of B.C.’s International Education Strategy including pursuing opportunities to advance the two-way flow of students;
• Meet or exceed the financial targets identified in the Ministry’s three-year service plan as tabled under Budget 2016, including maintaining balanced or surplus financial results;
• Continue to maximize the efficient use of public post-secondary administrative resources through the Administrative Service Delivery Transformation initiative
• Continue to deepen B.C.’s talent pool, in support of the #BCTECH strategy, ensuring opportunities for students in the technology sector; and
• Collaborate with the Ministry on the development of a common application system for all public post-secondary institutions in the province.
Taxpayer Accountability Principles In June of 2014, the B.C. Government announced that provincial public sector organizations, including post-secondary institutions, would operate under new taxpayer accountability principles that strengthen accountability, promote cost control, and ensure operation in the best interest of taxpayers. The B.C. Government’s six taxpayer accountability principles are:
• accountability, • respect, • integrity, • cost consciousness (efficiency), • service, and • appropriate compensation.
33 The full Taxpayer Accountability Principles document can be downloaded from http://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/download/B613CF138959439D9A947CF3D586FE6B.
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The following sections describe how government’s taxpayer accountability principles are incorporated into North Island College’s organizational values, planning, policies and practices. As such, the principles are built into the College’s ongoing business, ensuring that decisions and actions reflect the priorities and values of Government and the citizens of B.C.
Accountability Accountability to Government and citizens of B.C. has long been a fundamental component of NIC’s organizational culture, enshrined in the following value statement (see the “Mission, Vision, and Values” section in this document for a complete description of NIC’s organizational values):
“Our individual and organizational performance fosters public trust and community confidence.”
To this effect, NIC manages responsibilities in a transparent manner and according to a set of common public sector principles and processes:
• North Island College is required by law to adhere to its mandate as a B.C. college described in B.C.’s College and Institute Act.34
• As part of the government reporting entity, NIC is required to submit publicly available, quarterly financial reports to government as described in the Budget Transparency and Accountability Act.35
• Under the Ministry of Advanced Education’s Accountability Framework36, NIC submits an annual, publicly available institutional accountability plan and report (IAPR) describing what actions were taken and the accomplishments achieved related to key priorities described in government’s annual mandate letter, including the Taxpayer Accountability Principles. In addition, the IAPR reports on progress toward the goals and system objectives of the Ministry as established by Accountability Framework performance measures (see the “Performance Measures, Targets and Results” section of this document).
• The NIC Board of Governors is empowered by the College and Institute Act of British Columbia to manage, administer, and direct the affairs of the institution in the areas of property, revenue, expenditure, business, and other matters. To that end, the primary functions and roles of the Board are to establish the institution’s purpose and direction; to ensure the institution is effectively and efficiently managed; to establish policies that have institution-wide application, and to provide effective communication with the community. In 2016/17, the Board’s Governance and Human Resources Committee undertook a comprehensive review of Board Governance Process and Executive Limitations policies as well as other Board bylaws. Through this review, amendments were made to ensure alignment with the Taxpayer Accountability Principles.
The nine strategic priorities and 44 goals in North Island College’s five-year strategic plan (see graphical representations in the “Strategic Priorities and Goals” section in this document) demonstrate close alignment with Government mandates and priorities; both the College priorities and Government priorities together reinforce a focus on meeting the needs of NIC’s students and communities. The
34 The full College and Institute Act is available at http://www.bclaws.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/96052_01. 35 The full Budget Transparency and Accountability Act is available at http://www.bclaws.ca/Recon/document/ID/freeside/00_00023_01. 36 See http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/education-training/post-secondary-education/institution-resources-administration/accountability-framework for a description of the Framework.
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College’s strategic plan was developed with input from 500 stakeholders attending 32 consultation meetings across the NIC region. All internal planning, including the College’s educational, capital and tactical plans, flow from this alignment ensuring that decision making and actions are directly linked to Government direction and requirements, and that they are efficiently and effectively focused to support of the needs of students and communities. A report on key strategic plan outcomes and achievements in 2016/17 can be found in the “NIC Plan 2020: 2016/17 Goals, Actions and Outcomes” section of this document.
Integrity and Respect: Code of Conduct Making decisions and taking actions that are transparent, ethical and free from conflict of interest are key components of institutional integrity. To promote a culture of integrity and respect, NIC has developed a strong ethical code of conduct policy that includes conflict of interest and post-employment provisions for all employees. Per Policy #1-20, Code of Ethical Conduct,37 North Island College employees are expected to exhibit the highest standards of conduct, be accountable for their actions and act in an ethical and honest manner at all times. Principle 1.3 of the Code states that, “The language and conduct of employees shall reflect social standards of courtesy, respect and dignity, including a considered effort to effective communication across cultures.” This flows from a broader institutional value to promote an organizational culture based on mutual trust and respect that operates in an open and honest manner.
Cost Consciousness (Efficiency) and Service NIC continually strives to strengthen cost management capabilities and foster a culture of cost-consciousness at all levels of the organization. The College maintains a clear focus on positive outcomes for students, communities, employees, and citizens of B.C. by delivering cost-efficient, effective, value-for-money programs and services.
North Island College’s Multi-Year Program Planning (MYPP) process is a College-wide process for planning credit, credentialed, and apprenticeship programming within the context of the College’s strategic plan. At the centre of the MYPP process are NIC’s educational departments and schools, which develop rolling three-year plans for base and cost-recovery funded credit-based programming. These program plans form the basis of service and financial planning necessary for the College to efficiently deliver financially sustainable educational programs in a cost-effective manner. The program plans build in flexibility that allows the College to respond to changing external and internal environmental factors and priorities, including shifts in market demands and in post-secondary education in B.C., Canada and around the globe. Moreover, MYPP provides a framework for strategically allocating available financial resources to programs and services that optimally meet the needs of students and communities, including labour market needs. NIC’s MYPP framework promotes the efficient use of government grants, responsiveness to government policy and direction, and accountability to the taxpayer. A report on initiatives funded via MYPP in 2016/17 can be found in the “NIC Plan 2020: 2016/17 Goals, Actions and Outcomes” section of this document under “Strategic Priority #2: High Quality, Relevant, Responsive Curriculum & Programs.”
In addition to delivering cost-effective programs and services, North Island College maintains a keen organizational commitment to efficiently procuring goods and services. Via the Public Post-Secondary Administrative Services Delivery Transformation (ASDT) initiative (see section titled “Public Post-
37 NIC’s full Code of Ethical Conduct is available at http://www.nic.bc.ca/PDF_docs/policies/Section1/1-20%20Code%20of%20Ethical%20Conduct.pdf.
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Secondary Administrative Services Delivery Transformation” for more information), NIC has taken leadership roles in partnering both with other B.C. public post-secondary institutions and with the Ministry of Advanced Education toward achieving administrative efficiencies, reducing costs, avoiding cost increases, sharing of best practices, and enhancing the range and quality of services across B.C.’s public post-secondary education sector. NIC has also participated in several joint procurement opportunities made available through the ASDT and remains committed to finding further administrative efficiencies through collaboration and shared services.
In 2014, Economic Modeling Specialists International (EMSI) completed an economic-impact and return-on-investment analysis of NIC.38 Findings suggest the College and its students added over $223 million in 2012/13 to the region through operations, spending, higher earnings and increased productivity. This is over 4% of the Gross Regional Product. College operations accounted for more than $36 million, with a third of this money directed toward expenses for facilities, professional services, and supplies. Spending by out-of-region students generated over $2 million. Former NIC students working in the region generated higher earnings and productivity gains of almost $187 million according to the study.
EMSI estimates that, individually, students receive $3.20 in higher future earnings for every dollar they invest at NIC. The Province receives, on average, a 6.4% rate of return on the funding directed to NIC. Broken out, this includes: a) over $290 million in added income; and b) savings of over $5 million based on reduced crime, increased employment, and positive health outcomes.
Appropriate Compensation In 2015, the B.C. Government directed all public sector organizations to review and develop, as necessary, new compensation philosophies congruent with the Taxpayer Accountability Principles (TAP) to provide guidance with respect to how the elements of total compensation for excluded employees would be managed within the organization. Requisite in the TAP, public sector organizations’ compensation philosophies and corresponding compensation programs for excluded employees needed to include provisions that salary progression/increases would be based on merit/performance amongst other requirements such as Government mandate/guidelines.
NIC proceeded to develop a new Compensation Philosophy which was approved by the College’s Board of Governors in November 2015 and subsequently by the Public Sector Employers’ Council (PSEC) in early 2016 and published on the College’s website in May of 2016.39
Following the approval of NIC’s new Compensation Philosophy, and with similar approvals granted to other institutions in the BC post-secondary sector, PSEC then directed sector institutions to work together to develop a new sectoral compensation plan (rather than institution-specific plans) to not only refresh and update the compensation plan and salary ranges from a market-based perspective, but to also ensure that the updated plans operated under the appropriate controls and principles set out in the institutions’ respective compensation philosophies (i.e., be performance-based).
Since May of 2016, NIC has been participating in the Committee on Sectoral Excluded Compensation (COSEC), working with all other sector institutions with the support of compensation experts from the
38 Economic Modeling Specialists International (2014). Demonstrating the Value of North Island College: Analysis of the Economic Impact and return on Investment of Education. EMSI and BC Colleges. 39 Senior Employee Compensation Philosophy (2016). https://www.nic.bc.ca/about_us/governance/bog/bog_senior_comp.aspx
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Post-Secondary Employers’ Association (PSEA) and guidance of PSEC staff to develop a new sectoral compensation plan. It has been a highly collaborative effort, informed by a comprehensive market survey of Canadian post-secondary institutions and relevant B.C. public sector compensation practices. The Plan was recently submitted to PSEC for formal review and approval by the Minister of Finance.
In 2017, the College will be developing an appropriate performance assessment program for excluded employees that meets the requirements of PSEC and will allow for the ongoing operation of our new excluded compensation plan in accordance with the guidelines and direction approved by PSEC.
B.C.’s Skills for Jobs Blueprint In 2014, the Provincial Government launched the B.C.’s Skills for Jobs Blueprint,40 which outlines government’s plan to re-engineer education and training so that British Columbians will have the skills needed to fill anticipated job openings in the province. The Blueprint is based on three overarching objectives to make education and training more effective and more relevant to the needs of industry and the workplace:
1. A head-start to hands-on learning in schools. 2. A shift in education and training to better match with jobs that are in demand. 3. A stronger partnership with industry and labour to deliver training and apprenticeships.
In support of the Blueprint, all B.C. public post-secondary institutions develop annual Skills Gap Plans that highlight areas of their programming that directly align with labour market priorities, such as: the top 100 high opportunity occupations identified in the British Columbia 2025 Labour Market Outlook,41 health human resource needs as identified by the Ministry of Health, regional or specialized labour market needs, programs for Aboriginal learners, and programs for persons with disabilities. In 2016/17 NIC enrolled 361 student FTEs in Skills Gap Plan targeted programs, including Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), Licensed Practical Nurse, Health Care Assistant, Early Childhood Care and Education, Human Services and Social Services, Accounting, Marketing, Business Management, Applied Business Technology (leading to high opportunity administrative assistant occupations) and Adult Basic Education (ABE). It should be noted that ABE is an important component of NIC’s Skills Gap Plan given that high school completion rates and preparedness for post-secondary education in the region are low. Many students require upgrading to meet the minimum admission requirements for programs that will provide credentials leading to the jobs they desire. Having completed three years of the Skills Gap Plan process so far, NIC has met all enrolment targets.
In addition to Skills Gap Plan programs funded through NIC’s 2016/17 base grant from the Ministry of Advanced Education, NIC offered several one-time funded intakes in trades, health and human services, industry training, adult upgrading and access pathway programs that directly support Blueprint objectives. Programs offered at NIC campuses included Health Care Assistant, Plumbing Apprentice, Electrical Apprentice, Heavy Duty Mechanic Apprentice, Pathways to Aquaculture, Employment Transition Construction Access for persons with disabilities, New Directions for Older Workers, Prep Cook, Kitchen Helper, Enhanced Security Training, Coastal Forest Resource, Building Service Worker, Trades Discovery, and Introduction to Trades. In-Community offerings included Adult Upgrading in Ucluelet, Bella Coola,
40 Retrieved from https://www.workbc.ca/getmedia/4c54646a-93fa-4566-b148-f43a3f27b240/Booklet_BCsBlueprint_web_140428.pdf.aspx on May 19, 2016. 41 Retrieved from https://www.workbc.ca/getmedia/00de3b15-0551-4f70-9e6b-23ffb6c9cb86/LabourMarketOutlook.aspx on April 4th, 2017.
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Gold River, and Kingcome Inlet; Container House Project Crew Training in Tofino; New Directions for Older Workers in Port Alice; and Underground Mining in Lillooet.
Identifying, developing and providing education and training that meets the needs of regional labour markets requires ongoing engagement at a local level with stakeholders and constituents. This is especially important for NIC given the significant regional demographic, social, economic and labour market variation within its 80,000 km2 service area. Many of these labour market needs are not revealed in provincial and national labour market data sources; however, identifying and meeting them are critical to fostering community social and economic development. By partnering with First Nations, community representatives, industry leaders and organizations, school districts and post-secondary institutions, NIC identifies local needs and develops programming that meets them. NIC seeks wherever possible to deliver programs in communities at the request of its partners, eliminating barriers to education such as transportation, childcare, and living allowances.
Of particular relevance to the Blueprint is NIC’s ongoing partnership with Island Health. Beginning in 2014, Island Health committed $2.75 million to the College over 10 years for the development of health-related programming. NIC continues to work closely with Island Health to consider regional occupational forecasts and to develop new programming. These activities coincide with the construction of a new hospital adjacent to NIC’s Comox Valley campus and a new hospital in Campbell River, both scheduled for completion in 2017. A report on how NIC has been working with Island Health in 2016/17 can be found in the “NIC Plan 2020: 2016/17 Goals, Actions and Outcomes” section of this document under “Strategic Priority #8: Active Connections to Community” for the goal “Collaborate with Island Health to optimize the benefits accruing from the North Island Hospitals.”
In regards to future programming, NIC has committed to the Blueprint by acknowledging it as a key factor in the College’s recently developed and implemented Multi-Year Program Planning (MYPP) process. The MYPP has initiated a comprehensive review of all educational programming at the College with educational departments considering what changes they should make to ensure NIC continues to meet student, business and industry needs over the next three years. To ensure the success of departmental efforts, MYPP is aligned with multi-year budgeting so that NIC resources are effectively and efficiently allocated to strong program plans.
Incorporating and expanding on MYPP, a further organization-wide commitment to the Blueprint can be found in NIC Plan 2020, NIC’s 2016-2020 strategic plan, which provides focus for College-wide departmental planning and operations for a five-year period. Several priorities in NIC Plan 2020 ensure ongoing support for Blueprint priorities focused on post-secondary education, training and services, including objectives for high school and post-secondary educational partnerships, dual credit programming, work-based and experiential learning opportunities, preparing and matching students with jobs, business and industry partnerships, community-based delivery of education and training, First Nations partnerships, enhancing Aboriginal education and indigenous-centred services, access for persons with disabilities, and harnessing innovative solutions for distance and remote delivery of education. Further detail on NIC Plan 2020, including outcomes and achievements in 2016/17 can be found in “NIC Plan 2020: 2016/17 Goals, Actions and Outcomes” section of this document.
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Aboriginal Post-Secondary Education and Training Policy Framework and Action Plan The Ministry of Advanced Education’s Aboriginal Post-Secondary Education and Training Policy Framework and Action Plan42 outlines a plan for improving post-secondary opportunities and outcomes for First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples in B.C. It sets out a vision, principles and goals, informed by evidence-based policies and leading practices, to address systemic barriers and support systemic institutional change to support Aboriginal learners. The 2020 Vision is that: “Aboriginal learners succeed in an integrated, relevant, and effective British Columbia post-secondary education system that enhances their participation in the social, cultural and economic life of their communities, the province, and global society”. Five goals support the plan’s long-term vision:
1. Systemic change means that the public post-secondary education system is relevant, responsive, respectful and receptive to Aboriginal learners and communities and relationships between public post-secondary institutions and Aboriginal communities are based on mutual respect.
2. Community-based delivery of programs is supported through partnerships between public post-secondary institutions and Aboriginal institutes and communities.
3. Financial barriers to accessing and completing postsecondary education and training are reduced for Aboriginal learners.
4. Aboriginal learners transition seamlessly from K–12 to post-secondary education. 5. Continuous improvement is based on research, data-tracking and sharing of leading
practices.
On May 1, 2015, NIC’s President and CEO joined representatives of 22 First Nations at the K’omoks First Nation Big house to sign the Colleges and Institutes Canada Indigenous Educational Protocol (CICIEP).43
Signatory institutions to the CICIEP agree to:
1. Commit to making Indigenous education a priority. 2. Ensure governance structures recognize and respect Indigenous peoples. 3. Implement intellectual and cultural traditions of Indigenous peoples through curriculum and
learning approaches relevant to learners and communities. 4. Support students and employees to increase understanding and reciprocity among
Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. 5. Commit to increasing the number of Indigenous employees with ongoing appointments
throughout the institution, including Indigenous senior administrators. 6. Establish Indigenous-centred holistic services and learning environments for learner success. 7. Build relationships and be accountable to Indigenous communities in support of self-
determination through education, training and applied research.
The commitments in the CICIEP complement the vision and goals identified in the Ministry’s Aboriginal Post-Secondary Education and Training Policy Framework and Action Plan. Guided by these two documents, Aboriginal-youth focused plans in B.C.’s Skills for Jobs Blueprint, government’s Taxpayer Accountability Principles of accountability, service and respect, and ongoing consultation with local First
42 Ministry of Advanced Education and Training (June, 2012). Retrieved from http://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/education/post-secondary-education/aboriginal-education-training/aboriginal_action_plan.pdf on May 12, 2016. 43 Colleges and Institutes Canada. Retrieved from http://www.collegesinstitutes.ca/policyfocus/indigenous-learners/protocol/ on May 12, 2016.
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Nations stakeholders, North Island College has affirmed “Aboriginal Education and Indigenization” as one of its core strategic priorities. The priority includes eight goals:
1. Develop and implement an Aboriginal Education Policy and Action Plan in alignment with the Aboriginal Post-Secondary Education and Training Policy Framework and Action Plan and the CICIEP commitments.
2. Communicate that indigenous education is a priority. 3. Ensure governance structures recognize/respect Indigenous peoples. 4. Implement intellectual and cultural traditions of Indigenous peoples throughout curriculum
and learning. 5. Increase the number of Indigenous employees. 6. Support students and employees to increase understanding and reciprocity among
Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. 7. Enhance Indigenous-centred services, learning environments, student and community spaces
and learner success. 8. Build relationships with and be accountable to Indigenous communities.
A report on key outcomes and achievements in 2016/17 for NIC’s strategic plan goals for Aboriginal education can be found in the “NIC Plan 2020: 2016/17 Goals, Actions and Outcomes” section of this document under “Strategic Priority #4: Aboriginal Education and Indigenization.”
At the core of Aboriginal education at NIC is an organization-wide commitment to serve the region’s diverse and geographically dispersed Aboriginal students and communities in the way that best meets their needs: at one of our four campuses, through technology-enabled distance learning, in community, and/or at First Nations partner’s locations. Programming is responsive to locally defined First Nation needs and incorporates necessary supports in remote regions. To achieve this, NIC links directly to three First Nations regional advisory committees (Central, Northern, and West Coast) that collectively form the Aboriginal Education Advisory Council (AEAC). The AEAC provides guidance to the College to ensure the provision of comprehensive education and support services relevant to the needs of Aboriginal people and to ensure that the College works with Aboriginal people in culturally appropriate ways.
Based on student satisfaction surveys conducted for NIC’s Aboriginal Service Plan, frontline student supports via the Aboriginal Education Advisors and Elders in Residence play a vital role in student access, success, and retention.
Aboriginal Education Advisors make themselves available to students by maintaining office hours at NIC’s four regional campuses, being present in the Aboriginal student study areas, and being present at relevant cultural events. As well, Aboriginal Education Advisors travel and make themselves available by phone and email, provide educational guidance and help students secure financial support, and invigilate in-community assessment placements.
Elders in Residence travel among campuses, provide cultural guidance, and foster traditional knowledge. Elders maintain office hours at our Comox Valley and Campbell River campuses, are frequently available in the Aboriginal student study areas, and attend relevant cultural events. Elder support has been integrated into community programming such as the certificate in Early Childhood Care and Education in Ahousaht and the indigenous focus Educational Assistant / Community Support certificate in Port Hardy.
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International Education Strategy B.C.’s Ministry of Advanced Education has developed an International Education Strategy that seeks a) to bring students from other countries to Canada to study and b) to provide domestic B.C. students with robust study-abroad opportunities. At the centre of the strategy are three goals:
1. Create a globally oriented education system in British Columbia. 2. Ensure that all students receive quality learning and life experiences. 3. Maximize the benefits of international education - social, cultural and economic - for all
British Columbia communities, families and businesses.
NIC, through its Office of Global Engagement (OGE), has embraced this challenge through enhanced recruitment of international students from diverse geographical regions, new international student support programs, field schools and reciprocal exchanges, co-op placements, international partnerships, and on-campus and community initiatives that foster internationalization, intercultural intelligence and global competencies.
A Global Learning Facilitator, a non-teaching faculty member, supports both faculty and students with regard to the academic aspects of internationalization at the College. This position drives curriculum internationalization workshops, diversity and intercultural competence training, and dynamic face-to-face and online tools. The Global Learning Facilitator also seeks internationalization learning opportunities that parallel indigenization learning especially in relationship to respect, reciprocity and reconciliation.
A Global Engagement Fund (GEF) supports NIC students and faculty in developing internationally focused projects with community partners. The fund is designed to support students in building curiosity and appreciation for the intercultural and international aspects of the larger world in which they study, live and work. Projects supported by this fund support community and college capacity to engage internationally and interculturally; facilitate intercultural skill development; focus on participants as co-creators of intercultural and international learning; reward students with academic credit and/or provide experience for further study or work; enhance faculty’s field of study; and create measurable benefits for businesses, nonprofit or civil society organizations. GEF projects demonstrate global citizenship, equity, and social justice; contribute to international and intercultural understanding; and develop global knowledge and leadership skills. They establish skills to live and work internationally and interculturally, and integrate the applied creativity of students and faculty with the practical considerations of community partners. The following initiatives were funded through the GEF in 2016/17:
• faculty research on experiences of internationalization among domestic international students;
• a Global Solidarity Retreat for NIC Human Services and international students to learn about challenges to development in some regions of the world; and
• the Changemaker Forum was sponsored by NIC and the Comox Valley Global Awareness Network to connect community leaders to support the development of inclusive behavior and actions in the Comox Valley.
This broad, complementary collection of projects and programs both supports and extends NIC’s strategic priority of “International Education and Internationalization”, which is made up of five core goals:
1. Achieve sustainable growth in international student enrolment.
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2. Build capacity in the College and communities to meet the needs of international students. 3. Internationalize the teaching and learning process, curriculum and programs. 4. Develop and support internationalization at home and education abroad opportunities for
students. 5. Develop and implement international contract training, projects and applied research.
Close alignment between NIC’s strategic goals for international education and internationalization and those outlined in the Ministry of Advanced Education’s International Education Strategy ensures that work accomplished at NIC contributes to achieving the Strategy. A full report on NIC’s key outcomes and achievements in 2016/17 for international education can be found in the “NIC Plan 2020: 2016/17 Goals, Actions and Outcomes” section of this document under “Strategic Priority #5: International Education and Internationalization.”
Sound Financial Management Maintaining and improving NIC’s financial health is a key priority for NIC; the College’s capacity to provide access for students and serve regional communities with high quality, relevant and responsive programs and services depends on efficient and effective resource-use to create a position of long-term financial sustainability. Sound financial management provides the basis for planning, organizational stability and certainty for students, communities and NIC employees.
NIC receives significant funding from government and, as such, is accountable to taxpayers for the use of these resources. This includes ensuring expenditures throughout the organization are reasonable, appropriate, and support the core mandate of the institution. Serving as a framework for budget decisions are a) the College’s strategic plan, educational program plans, and tactical plans and b) the B.C. College and Institute Act and government policies and priorities, including the Taxpayer Accountability Principles.
B.C. public post-secondary education institutions are required by law to submit balanced budgets each year to the Provincial Government. The government also requires institutions to provide regular, detailed financial reports to ensure that revenues and expenditures are in accordance with the budget submitted. NIC’s 2016/17 audited financial statements, available online for public review at the link in the “Financial Information” section of this document, report a balanced budget. NIC has consistently met government’s requirements to deliver balanced budgets and maintains a strong commitment to continuing this trend in future reporting cycles.
NIC’s strategic priority of “Resources, investment, sustainability further affirms the College’s commitment to sound financial management. A report on 2016/17 outcomes and achievements can be found in the “NIC Plan 2020: 2016/17 Goals, Actions and Outcomes” section of this document.
Public Post-Secondary Administrative Service Delivery Transformation The Administrative Services Delivery Transformation (ASDT)44 initiative is an effort led by the public post-secondary sector in B.C. that seeks to reduce costs and improve non-academic service delivery by finding administrative efficiencies and sharing expertise. The initiative brings together all 25 B.C. public post-secondary institutions in partnership with the Ministry of Advanced Education to provide a unique
44 http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/education-training/post-secondary-education/institution-resources-administration/post-secondary-administrative-service-delivery-transformation
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opportunity to share perspectives, innovate, and increase collaboration to benefit the sector. The ASDT builds on the successes of the informal, small group collaboration and sharing of best practices and services that have been part of the public post-secondary sector way of operating for many years.
Led by the ASDT Steering Committee, sector-wide procurement of goods and services has been a primary strategy for generating collective value. North Island College employees have served in leadership roles on sector-wide procurement initiatives via membership on the BCNET Source Services Committee and the Finance Centre of Excellence Committee. NIC has also had membership the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Working Group, tasked with developing a strategy for enhanced collaboration and increased ERP optimization for the sector. Operationally, NIC has engaged with ASDT initiatives to procure goods and services like cylinder gas, trades equipment, and natural gas. The College is participating in the Commercial Card Project, aimed at consolidating purchasing volumes to obtain greater rebates, and the Central Deposit Program, focused on increasing interest-income for participating institutions and reducing government borrowing.
#BCTECH Strategy The B.C. Government’s #BCTECH Strategy was launched in 2016 to foster growth in the province’s burgeoning technology sector. The Strategy was initially founded on three pillars:
1. Talent – deepening the province’s talent pool by increasing the number of technology graduates, attracting more talent from other jurisdictions, retaining existing talent, and innovating immigration processes.
2. Capital – improving tax credits and helping companies pursue federal government capital. 3. Markets – modernizing government procurement.
In 2017, a fourth pillar was added: “Data”, as a tool for innovation, by broadening access to, and use of, government data.
NIC, as a B.C. public post-secondary college, provides direct support to the Strategy’s talent pillar by offering credit programs that directly lead to careers in the technology sector and by providing real-time, remote access to high quality science lab equipment for students in B.C. and across North America.
The College offers several technology-based credit programs that prepare students for careers in the technology sector, including five Interactive Media and Graphic (IMGD) design streams:
• Mobile Application Development Certificate • Web and Mobile Application Development Diploma • Communications Design Diploma • Advanced Communication & Interactive Design Diploma • Web Design Certificate
IMGD program graduates are qualified for a wide range of positions in interactive media design and development, including web designer/developer, web analytics, digital artist, e-commerce site development, mobile application development and more. Computer programmers and interactive media developers are amongst the top 100 high opportunity occupations identified in the British Columbia 2025 Labour Market Outlook with an estimated 7,800 job openings province-wide by 2025. Regionally, for the Vancouver Island/Coast economic development region, this is one of the occupations forecast to expand
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the fastest with 2.4% annual average employment demand growth45 and an estimated 1,280 job openings to 2025.
In 2016/17, NIC allocated 10 FTEs in IMGD programming toward Skills Gap Plan targets (see section titled “B.C.’s Skills for Jobs Blueprint”) and this will remain in effect for 2017/18, affirming the College’s commitment to providing capacity for programs that prepare students for high opportunity technology sector jobs regionally and across B.C.
NIC has offered a one-year study plan in engineering since 2010, allowing students to transfer to UVic to complete their program and launch their engineering career. Starting 2017 fall term, NIC will offer an Engineering Foundations Certificate with the added benefit of providing students with a credential for their résumé and increased access to other post-secondary institutions. First-year courses taken at NIC provide students with a solid foundation in computer programming, math, physics and engineering mechanics. Guaranteed transfer and dual admission agreements with UVIC ensure students will have a seamless transition to second-year electrical, mechanical, biomedical, civil or software engineering programs.
Software, civil, electrical, mechanical and computer engineers are amongst the top 100 high opportunity occupations identified in the British Columbia 2025 Labour Market Outlook with a total estimated 12,800 job openings province-wide by 2025. Regionally, for the Vancouver Island/Coast economic development region, software engineers and designers is one of the occupations forecast to expand the fastest with 2.4% annual average employment demand growth.
For more than two decades, NIC has offered the Industrial Automation Technician Diploma and Electronics Technician Core Certificate programs. Students typically start in the first-year, core certificate program and then complete the diploma program, graduating with a combined total of 1,400 hours of practical training. Graduates are qualified to work within industries such as renewable energy, oil and gas, mining, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, forest products, food and beverage and more. NIC's Industrial Automation Technician diploma program has been accredited by the Canadian Forces and graduates can gain advanced standing as a naval electronics technician.
Electrical and electronics engineering technologists and technicians is one of the top 100 high opportunity occupations identified in the British Columbia 2025 Labour Market Outlook with an estimated 1,800 job openings province-wide by 2025.
NIC’s Remote Web-Based Science Lab (RWSL) further supports the #BCTECH Strategy by providing students and educators in B.C. and across North America access to online science labs in real-time from home or in the classroom. The RWSL removes barriers such as region and lab availability by providing remote access to high quality scientific equipment capable of collecting precise data. Institutions who could not otherwise afford the equipment or justify the expenditure can use the RSWL to provide lab access for students and offer science courses that they would otherwise be unable to offer. Currently, the RWSL provides access to more than $240K in microscopes, spectrometers, air tracks, electromagnetic apparatus, and robots. NIC facilitates RWSL lab instruction in many subject areas including physics,
45 The British Columbia 2025 Labour Market Outlook estimates that annual average employment growth for the Vancouver Island/Coast economic development region to be 1.1%, on par with the provincial average.
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chemistry, engineering, and health; new lab exercises are being continually developed based on instructor demand. To date, the RWSL has received more than $1.3M in grants from international organizations who realize its importance in providing innovative and engaging education to students. The RWSL won its second international medal in 2016, winning silver in the Access to Learning and Employment category at the World Federation of Colleges and Polytechnics Awards of Excellence. In 2014, the RWSL placed second at the Wharton School of Business’ Reimagine Education Awards.
Common Application System The B.C. public post-secondary sector and government are working together to develop an online system that will consolidate existing government-supported advisory and application resources for students, making it easier to plan, search, and apply for post-secondary education in B.C.
NIC has participated in Phases 1 and 2 of the EducationPlannerBC (EPBC), also known as the Common Online Application System, since the inception of the initiative in 2015. During 2016/17, NIC worked in various capacities on the project with membership on the EPBC Steering Committee and EPBC Technology Working Group. Work completed in 2016/17 included implementation of the Phase 2 EPBC REST connector system. Further implementation and testing of EPBC Phase 2 will occur in 2017/18 along with development work on Phase 3.
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PERFORMANCE PLAN
NIC Plan 2020: 2016/17 Goals, Actions and Outcomes Launched in the fall of 2015, North Island College’s 2016-2020 Strategic Plan, formally titled NIC Plan 2020,46 addresses NIC’s regional opportunities and challenges and distinguishes NIC’s role from other post-secondary institutions across B.C. The Plan identifies nine over-arching strategic priorities and 44 related goals with a central focus on supporting student experiences and success.
The diagrams in this section illustrate how NIC’s priorities and goals align with the B.C. post-secondary system objectives and associated Accountability Framework performance measures. The College’s key actions and outcomes in 2016/17, the first year of NIC Plan 2020, are described in bullet form below each diagram.
A report on NIC’s targets, results and assessments for the Accountability Framework performance
measures in 2016/17 can be found in the section titled “Performance Measures, Targets and Results.”
Strategic Priority #1: Student Experience and Success
46 North Island College’s 2016-2020 Strategic Plan, NIC Plan 2020, can be viewed online at http://www.nic.bc.ca/about_us/College_plan/
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2016/17 Goals, Actions and Outcomes
Goal Action Outcome/ Status Develop definitions of student success that reflect student perspectives for use in planning and decision-making.
Solicit feedback from students on how NIC is meeting its student success goals.
• More than 78% of self-declared Aboriginal students reported experiencing a culturally welcoming environment, safety and respect on campus, effective academic and personal support, and felt NIC met their education goals.
• Additional focus groups with student leaders planned on a semester basis.
Create & implement new approaches to increase informal learning and campus life.
Create a high quality, sustainable peer tutoring service.
• Forty-two peer tutors supported more than 20 subject areas during the academic year and served more than 1,300 student appointments.
• Plans underway to grow the program next year, with more regions and program areas represented.
• The College Reading & Learning Association awarded NIC’s peer tutoring program one-year certification.
Launch Library & Learning Commons to generate space for informal learning including peer tutoring, math and writing support, and WriteAway.
• Expanded math and writing support. • Improved library research tools. • A total of 128 WriteAway submissions
representing 4% of B.C.’s submissions.
Create recreational, literary, cultural and social activities to provide informal learning, and social opportunities across areas of study.
• In 2016/17, NIC and the North Island Student Union provided free indoor soccer and volleyball while nursing students consulted with students to determine the need for additional sports and activities.
• Various campuses hosted events with authors and artists, including the Write Here Readers Series, Artist Talk Lecture Series, poetry workshops, cultural events and more. In Port Hardy, comedian and writer Ryan McMahon developed a story-telling workshop and national podcast.
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Goal Action Outcome/ Status
Enable more students to participate in workplace-based and experiential learning opportunities.
Develop more opportunities for workplace learning.
• NIC experienced a 45% increase in the number of students participating in co-op education and business internships in 2016/17. Eighty-one students worked on campus in several program areas.
Connect students with employers to highlight career opportunities.
• NIC hosted the 7th Annual Career Fair with 39 employers who provided career planning and employment information to students. Approximately 200 people attended. Employers will be surveyed to gather employment outcomes. Also hosted a one-day, non-profit mini-conference to create opportunities for students looking for co-ops, internships, and research projects.
Facilitate and support student leadership and connections at the program, campus, College and community levels.
Foster student leadership opportunities.
• NIC’s Student Leadership Team met weekly to develop their own leadership skills in addition to volunteering at campus events and participating in student feedback/focus groups. Students organized a leadership retreat to further develop their skills and were commended at a year-end awards ceremony. Graduating leaders will return as mentors in 2017/18.
• NIC launched an education campaign to encourage participation on the College’s Education Council and Board of Governors. The College will work to increase the number of nominated students and voter turnout by 10% in 2017/18.
Enable students to develop intercultural fluency and competencies.
Create opportunities to foster understanding of Indigenous cultures nationally and globally.
• NIC’s Aboriginal Education Department, regional advisory committees, and Aboriginal Education Advisory Council in discussions with the Office of Global Engagement to identify international Indigenous scholars and student exchanges in fine arts, Aboriginal leadership, health, tourism, and business development. The Department is also creating a booklet on Indigenous peoples and history to dispel stereotypes and myths about First Nations people in Canada.
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Goal Action Outcome/ Status See also “Strategic Priority #4: Aboriginal Education and Indigenization” and
“Strategic Priority #5, International Education and Internationalization.”
Strategic Priority #2: High Quality, Relevant, Responsive Curriculum & Programs
2016/17 Goals, Actions and Outcomes
Goal Action Outcome/ Status Develop and implement the Multi-Year Program Planning (MYPP) process.
Develop and implement a college-wide multi-year program planning process to achieve optimum program enrolment, regionally responsive programming for students and communities, and effective quality standards.
• First-year of MYPP completed in 2016/17 resulting in three additional course offerings to meet student demand and align with time slots for dual credit high school students, three new faculty and support positions, program feasibility/development work for two programs, and curriculum development on courses in seven programs, three related to incorporating or expanding Indigenous content.
Develop and reinvigorate programs based on regional demand and student need.
• Feasibility study and program development underway for a new Culinary Hospitality Management diploma.
• Feasibility study underway on offering two first-year intakes of Practical Nursing annually: one at Campbell River and one at Port Alberni. The current schedule is to offer one first-year intake each year alternating between the two campuses.
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Goal Action Outcome/ Status Indigenize the curriculum
to improve learning outcomes and strengthen content for students.
• Developed an Adult Basic Education Ethnobotany course with Indigenous content.
• Reviewed NIC’s Health Care Assistant curriculum to Indigenize content.
• Assessment underway of first-year English courses to produce parallel streams of Indigenous and non-Indigenous content for improved learning outcomes, content and university transfer.
Create new positions to build capacity within the College and strengthen existing program support.
• New sessional, administrative and technician positions created for Tourism & Hospitality Management, Human Services and Carpentry and Plumbing programs.
Provide additional course sections to meet student demand.
• MAT-151 offered in late afternoon to align with high school student semester schedules. Four additional math/science courses planned in 2017/18.
• Additional IMG-100 and IMG-110 sections offered to meet the student needs.
Develop, implement, and strengthen curriculum.
• Incorporated a first-year student health promotion component into NUR-410, Aboriginal Field School.
• Revised Education Assistant / Community Support, Indigenous Focus certificate to address Truth and Reconciliation Commission calls to action.
• Updated curriculum for Joinery, Automotive Service Technician, Heavy Duty Mechanical, and Metal Fabrication programs.
Enhance program partnerships and pathways with other post-secondary education institutions provincially, nationally and internationally.
Liaise with communities, secondary, and post-secondary institutions to improve educational pathways for students.
• NIC had 114 active partnership agreements in 2016/17, up 13% from the previous year, including 42 Canadian agreements, 41 international agreements, 23 community agreements and eight agreements with local school districts.
• Twenty new agreements in 2016/17, including a degree partnership with the Alberta College of Arts and Design.
• Signed a MOU with UVic to offer a master’s degree in leadership with a rural and Indigenous focus; program starts fall 2017.
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Goal Action Outcome/ Status Strengthen existing
programs to improve transferability and student success.
• Developed a new Engineering Foundation certificate to improve student access to courses and employer-recognized credentials after one year of study. The certificate aligns NIC with similar one-year programs province-wide and provides opportunities for faculty to celebrate student success at graduation.
Increase the number and broaden the range of dual credit programs provided in partnership with secondary schools.
Develop and implement new dual credit opportunities for high school students to access college.
• In total, 169 students enrolled in dual credit courses at NIC in 2016/17, a 6% increase over the previous year.
• Partnered with School Districts 69 and 85 to extend ITV to Winchelsea Place Community School in Parksville and to North Island Secondary in Port McNeill.
• Offered a Trades Sampler program, serving over 30 students in collaboration with school districts and First Nations.
Strategic Priority #3: Access to Learning and Services Across the Region
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2016/17 Goals, Actions and Outcomes
Goal Action Outcome/ Status Ensure all program admissions requirements and processes support access and student success.
Eliminate cultural bias and provide immediate assessment results to international students.
• Pilot online math self-assessment and English placement through full implementation of Accuplacer.
Improve funding opportunities for Aboriginal students interested in trades.
• Continue to review Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada funding eligibility requirements.
Develop online program admissions to improve access for students and increase staff processing speed.
• Launch planned for fall 2017 with step-by-step flyer to support students.
Create new advising tools and clearer admission requirements to improve student communications.
• Advising tools created and in use. Admission requirements to be updated by 2017/18.
Strengthen and diversify "in community" program delivery.
Work with community, First Nations and industry partners to improve student access to post-secondary education.
• Provided 62 in-community contracts serving 494 students from Ucluelet to Bella Coola in diverse program areas.
• Offer a Community Health Care Worker certificate in Port Alberni with the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council. Program starts fall 2017, with additional offerings as demand and resources support.
Increase integration and support for use of appropriate educational technology in the teaching and learning process (ITV, online).
Increase instructional delivery of ITV, and upgrade and expand locations to support concurrent course delivery.
• Winter 2017 saw 81.5 hours of weekly instructional delivery up from 55 hours during winter 2016.
• Delivered Early Childhood Care & Education courses via ITV in Zeballos and Tahsis.
• Expanded interactive television (ITV) locations and capabilities in at Ucluelet, Comox Valley, Port McNeill and Parksville.
Increase online educational technology use to improve access to resources and allow students and faculty to collaborate with each other.
• BlackBoard Learn communities grew substantially at NIC in 2016/17. A new community was created for Nursing students and the Student Resources Community was expanded to include an Information Literacy and Academic Integrity module. Work is underway for a new faculty community.
Improve technical support services for students.
• Launched NIC’s first full-time technical support services dedicated to students, with 13,254 web visits, 1,130 help requests, and 20 workshops in 2016/17.
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Strategic Priority #4: Aboriginal Education and Indigenization
2016/17 Goals, Actions and Outcomes
Goal Action Outcome/ Status Develop and implement an Aboriginal Education Policy and action plans in alignment with the BC Aboriginal Education and Training Policy and the Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan) Indigenous Education Protocol commitments.
Develop and implement an Aboriginal education tactical plan.
• Developed and implemented year one tactical plan objectives to respond to each of the nine strategic priorities in NIC Plan 2020 with specific strategies, action items, timelines, and outcomes that reference applicability to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to action. In April 2017, the tactical plan was expanded to incorporate direction from NIC’s Aboriginal regional advisory committees and ongoing feedback from community-based program partners.
Communicate that Indigenous education is a priority.
Develop a newsletter to share Aboriginal successes and increase understanding of Indigenous peoples and cultures across Canada.
• Aboriginal Education Department is developing a newsletter with Marketing and Communications for distribution in summer 2017.
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Goal Action Outcome/ Status Develop a social media
presence to share Aboriginal community cultural events across campuses and encourage staff, faculty, and students to attend.
• Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram accounts in development.
Ensure governance structures recognize and respect Indigenous peoples.
Develop communication opportunities between NIC’s Director of Aboriginal Education and NIC senior leadership.
• NIC’s Director of Aboriginal Education is an active member of the College’s Senior Education Team, providing input on governance structures, protocol, and recognition of the diversity of Indigenous peoples in NIC’s catchment area.
Implement intellectual and cultural traditions of Indigenous peoples throughout curriculum and learning.
Establish a context and timeline for NIC departments to recognize and protect intellectual properties and copyrights in curriculum having Indigenous focus.
• NIC Aboriginal Education Department developing an Indigenization framework, including a review of “First Nations 101” courses.
Assess and improve curriculum Indigenization through NIC’s Multi-Year Planning Process.
• See Strategy “Strategic Priority #2: High Quality, Relevant, Responsive Curriculum & Programs” for development of Indigenous curriculum content.
Increase the number of Indigenous employees.
With NICFA and CUPE support, maintain special human rights exemption employment opportunities for Aboriginal initiatives and Aboriginal students and communities.
• Ongoing
Seek recommendations from NIC’s Aboriginal Education Advisory Committee to recruit and retain employees.
• Ongoing; postings are distributed widely through committee members and councils.
Support students and employees to increase understanding and reciprocity among Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.
Encourage participation in activities that provide understanding of traditional Aboriginal ways and values, or increase knowledge and self-awareness of Aboriginal history in Canada.
• Thirty-five employees took the Provincial Health Services Authority’s San’Yas Indigenous Cultural Safety Training. The program strengthens the skills of those who work directly and indirectly with Aboriginal people. Additional participants expected in 2017/18.
• Funded students, faculty and two staff cohorts to participate in the Building Bridges through Understanding the Village Workshop in 2016/17.
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Goal Action • Outcome/ Status Enhance Indigenous-centred services, learning environments, student and community spaces, and learner success.
Open Aboriginal student lounges to provide improved learning spaces and services for Indigenous students.
• Campbell River and Port Alberni student lounges open, with new Comox Valley lounge expected in fall 2017. Planning underway for Mount Waddington campus in Port Hardy.
Work with the K’omoks First Nation to formally recognize their traditional territory.
• Discussions ongoing to commission a new pole carving at the Comox Valley campus.
Build relationships with and be accountable to Indigenous communities.
Develop educational agreement templates with First Nations partners to ensure goals, objectives, intellectual property, copyrights, and key elements meet the needs of NIC and First Nations communities.
• Ongoing
Strategic Priority #5: International Education and Internationalization
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2016/17 Goals, Actions and Outcomes
Goal Action Outcome/ Status
Achieve sustainable growth in international student enrolment.
Create, implement, and strengthen a strategic international recruitment and marketing plan.
• In 2016/17, 377 international students enrolled at NIC, a 16% increase from 2015/16.
• Contracted with recruitment specialists in major sending markets for increased efficiency and responsiveness.
• Developed an agent portal with enhanced digital and print marketing materials.
Build capacity in the College and communities to meet the needs of international students.
Expand international offices and hire additional staff to create “home away from home” on campus.
• Renovation and hiring complete with improved access and engagement for students.
Hire a Mandarin-speaking advisor.
• Completed with new capacity and support for Chinese students and community members.
Create faculty and staff professional development opportunities overseas.
• Three employees participated in Leave for Change in 2016/17, volunteering their time with institutional partners in developing countries.
Create peer mentoring and support programs with domestic students.
• In development
Internationalize the teaching and learning process, curriculum, and programs.
Engage and support faculty to improve student learning.
• Faculty workshops on challenges of working with diverse international learners held.
Create an elective course to provide students with intercultural competencies.
• In development
Develop and support Internationalization at home and education abroad opportunities for students.
Grow NIC’s study abroad offerings through new exchanges and field schools.
• In 2016, 15 students participated in a field school to Greece, with planned field schools to Nepal and Bosnia in 2017, and Greece and the Philippines in 2018.
Develop international contract training, projects, and applied research.
Initiate international contract training.
• In 2016/17, NIC offered its first contract training to visiting students from China. In 2017/18, NIC will host 20 Chinese students in Customized Cruise Line Service training.
Collaborate on international research.
• In development. Seeking membership in the University of the Arctic Consortium.
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Strategic Priority #6: People, Organization and Culture
2016/17 Goals, Actions and Outcomes
Goal Action Outcome/ Status Facilitate shared leadership, dialogue, team learning, and involvement across the College.
Conduct a comprehensive employee engagement survey to collect baseline engagement data and develop an action plan to address improvement areas.
• Contracted BC Stats to complete NIC’s first employee engagement survey since 2008. Results were tallied in November with an 80% response rate. The high engagement levels allow NIC to retain a motivated workforce and ensure NIC continues to meet the needs of diverse learners.
Foster an inclusive organizational culture that supports and celebrates diversity and learning.
Convene a Diversity Matters@NIC committee made up of a cross-section of NIC community members, including students, to guide a college-wide diversity and inclusion project.
• Ongoing; developed process and methods to gather current perceptions as well as implement improvements.
See also “Support students and employees to increase understanding and reciprocity among Indigenous and non-Indigenous people” in “Strategic Priority 4: Aboriginal Education and Indigenization.”
Enhance support for faculty, staff, and administrative professional development.
Recognize the increasing professional learning costs and continue to support faculty and CUPE employees in maintaining and increasing their professional skills.
• Increased annual maximums for faculty in-service professional development from $1,500 to $2,000; improved access for sessional faculty.
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Goal Action Outcome/ Status • Increased annual maximums for CUPE
career development applications from $1,000 to $1,500.
Encourage the scholarship of teaching and learning.
Improve access to the NICFA Common Professional Development Fund (CFPD) by broadening the scope of eligible activities and increasing faculty awareness of eligible coverage and process.
• CFPD supported 27 activities in 2016/17, allocating the maximum funds available ($68,541).
• Criteria broadened to support activities that contribute to the maintenance and development of faculty’s professional competence and effectiveness.
• Application form revised to align with criteria for adjudication, thereby providing increased clarity on funding decisions and requirements to ensure a strong application.
Three information sessions were provided to inform faculty of changes to fund. More sessions to be scheduled for fall 2017.
Encourage faculty to participate in professional development opportunities across B.C.
• Ongoing; a Professional Development Day was offered at the Comox Valley campus in August 2016.
Review and implement employee succession planning strategies.
Develop a succession planning strategy. • NIC filled several key leadership positions through internal promotion: Vice President, Finance and Facilities; Director of Finance; Director of Aboriginal Education; and Coordinator, Mount Waddington campus. Several employees served interim or acting leadership roles to provide temporary vacancy coverage.
Develop and implement initiatives to enhance College, department and team effectiveness.
Organize and implement departmental training initiatives to address group learning needs.
• Several departments, including Finance & Facilities and Continuing Education & Training, accessed training through the CUPE Group Career Development Fund.
Facilitate team-building activities to improve employee health.
• Human Resources organized Canadian Mental Health Week activities in May 2016 and the initiative continued in 2017.
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Strategic Priority #7: Resources, Investment, Sustainability
2016/17 Goals, Actions and Outcomes
Goal Action Outcome/ Status Create and implement a multi-year, comprehensive Resource Development Strategy.
Work with industry, business, government, and foundations to support long-term development strategies.
• Ongoing. NIC became one of two B.C. colleges to receive funding from the Labour Market Partnership program, a joint initiative between the B.C. Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and the Government of Canada. NIC received almost $1.1M, including $600K to develop curriculum and pilot delivery of the Aquaculture Technician diploma and $488K to develop curriculum and pilot delivery of a TV and Film Crew Training program.
Develop and implement plans for a capital fundraising campaign with the NIC Foundation.
Develop a capital campaign to raise additional funds for the Campbell River campus upgrade.
• Ongoing. Hiring underway for capital campaign officer. Developing plans for an internal campaign planning committee to itemize investment opportunities as well as leadership and steering committees to fundraise for major gifts.
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Goal Action Outcome/ Status Increase business partnerships, entrepreneurial development and involvement in social innovation.
Strengthen connections to business organizations via director positions with the Comox Valley and Campbell River Chambers of Commerce and the Innovation Island Technology Association.
• Increased collaboration with business leaders including continuation of a Global Leaders of Tomorrow mentorship program, support for research grants and program funding, sponsorship of annual community awards, and increased engagement and awareness of NIC goals through community business walks.
See “Strategic Priority #8: Active Connections to the Community” for more applied research partnerships.
Continue to monetize the Remote Web-Based Science Lab (RWSL) and increase its customer base in the wake of several international awards.
• Ongoing. Presented the RWSL on a national scale at the CICAN national conference April 2017.
• Plans to build articulation and accreditation agreements.
Develop and communicate a 10-year Investment Plan to address long term infrastructure and other resource needs.
Work with the NIC Foundation and community stakeholders to develop an investment plan.
• Preliminary talks underway.
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Strategic Priority #8: Active Connections to Community
2016/17 Goals, Actions and Outcomes
Goal Action Outcome/ Status Increase connections with school districts, secondary schools, teachers, students and parents.
Strengthen high school open houses and parent student information nights to demonstrate relevant programs and career paths for students across program areas.
• More than 1,000 grade 11 students from across the region took part in two open houses, one in the Comox Valley and one in Port Alberni. Parent student info nights were expanded to additional campuses, with 51 immediate applications received for the 2017/18 academic year.
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Goal Action Outcome/ Status Strengthen relationships with business, industry, and other organizations in support of student learning and applied research.
Strengthen relationship with the B.C. Salmon Farmers’ Association (BCSFA) and B.C. Shellfish Growers’ Association (BCSGA).
NIC’s Centre for Applied Research Technology and Innovation (CARTI) received several grants with the support of both associations, including: • $600K to pilot delivery of an
Aquaculture Technician diploma • $150K to investigate how salmon farms
act as floating reef habitats • $134K for micro-hatchery equipment to
research seed diversification • $25K to install anti-predator netting to
improve oyster seed survival • NIC is also conducting the single largest
study to explore B.C.’s kelp growing potential. Kelp lines have been installed at more than 30 farm sites off Vancouver Island with BCSFA support.
Work with UBC, the UVic West Coast Wave Initiative, and the College of the North Atlantic to study tidal and wave energy.
• In development
Strengthen relationship with Colleges and Institutes Canada.
• Increased national profile, sharing of key marketing resources, and two new full-tuition scholarships.
Strengthen relationships with Island Coastal Economic Trust and the Comox Valley Economic Development Society.
• In development. Identifying the need for local training while developing strategic initiatives to strengthen the area economy.
Collaborate with Island Health to optimize the benefits accruing from the North Island Hospitals.
Create new programs and intakes to address Island Health hiring needs.
• Health Care Assistant intake funding received. Island Health circulating job posting as NIC seeks qualified instructors.
• Feasibility study for a pilot Rehabilitation Assistant diploma underway.
Identify the role students can play in the Courtenay and Campbell River Hospitals opening in September 2017.
• Up to 120 students will act as patient companions and 40 students will act as ambassadors during the transition. Additional student employment opportunities under discussion.
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Goal Action Outcome/ Status Create community awareness of
the transition process. • NIC’s 2017 nursing student leadership
conference will focus on the new hospitals and include a panel of North Island Hospital Project participants.
Increase collaboration with ElderCollege to achieve shared goals.
Work with ElderCollege executive to share best practices and assess program challenges.
• Establish quarterly liaison meetings with ElderCollege executive from all three campuses to explore potential synergies across regions.
Implement the Joy of Lifelong Learning program, enabling adults 55+ to easily access more than 80 affordable academic courses.
• Consulted with ElderCollege executive in three regions to ensure they support September 2017 launch plans.
Facilitate and support development and operation of Regional Learning Councils (Alberni Valley, Mount Waddington, the West Coast and Campbell River).
Create learning councils with regional First Nations, school districts, local government, non-profit organizations and industry to identify, advise, and support the education needs of the region.
• Ongoing. Alberni Valley, Campbell River, and Mount Waddington learning councils have been created.
Increase organizational capacity for applied research.
Expand the Centre for Applied Research Technology and Innovation team and scope of its work.
• Applied for infrastructure, equipment, and research grants; employed a new research assistant; and hired seven NIC students to work as part-time researchers.
Apply for SSHRC grant to investigate how leadership principles are embedded in the Kwak’wala language.
• Received $24,600 grant. Research in progress.
Focus on clean technologies and building capacity in seafood production and processing.
• Ongoing. In collaboration with UBC and First Nations partners, NIC submitted a $2.5 million proposal. The project adds value to existing institutional activities, leverages clean tech solutions, influences further development and commercialization projects, builds rural business capacity, and trains students and industry in new technology use.
Extend NIC’s NSERC funded Industrial Research Chair for Colleges in Sustainable Aquaculture grant and highlight work internationally to raise awareness of NIC expertise.
• NSERC application in progress. Presentations at conferences in Rome, Bolivia, and South Korea.
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Goal Action Outcome/ Status See “Strategic Priority #8: Active Connections to the Community” for more applied
research partnerships and grant application results. Participate in community as an active steward of the unique natural environment in which we reside.
Continue to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from natural gas and electricity consumption.
• From 2013 to 2016, NIC upgraded its HVAC systems and lowered its natural gas consumption for a 21% decrease in greenhouse gas emissions; during the same time, LED lighting upgrades reduced electricity consumption and lowered greenhouse gas emissions by 31%.
Participate in Bike to Work Week. • Forty-nine staff at NIC’s Comox Valley campus saved 361 units of greenhouse gas emissions and logged 1,660 km in a one-week competition.
Implement pay parking and create additional bicycle spaces at the Comox Valley campus.
• Pay parking initiated in September 2016. Additional bike shelters installed in 2017.
Strategic Priority #9: College Identity and Brand
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2016/17 Goals, Actions and Outcomes
Goal Action Outcome / Status Review and refresh the NIC identity and brand.
Strengthen and renew the NIC logo.
• Soft launched business cards, name tags, letterhead, and promotional material with a louder, prouder NIC logo to increase its visibility, impact, and reach in the community.
Create rebranded Office of Global Engagement materials to profile student experiences and support, campus life, and NIC advantages.
• A new look and the tagline, “Your Canadian Experience Starts Here,” was applied to NIC’s 2017 International Viewbook and rolled out to pop-up banners, press ads and print collateral. A mobile-friendly website is in development.
Support NIC’s Aboriginal Education Advisory Council in developing and launching a logo to welcome Aboriginal students and cultures.
• Invited Kwakwaka’wakw, Nuu-chah-nulth and Coast Salish artists to design a logo, representing the three traditional territories in the region and Aboriginal Education at NIC. The winning design is now used extensively by NIC’s Aboriginal Education Department and the Aboriginal Education Advisory Council.
Establish new NIC Foundation logo, branding, and promotional materials.
• New print materials, mobile-friendly website, letterhead, and promotional materials in use. An NIC team also developed a new mobile-friendly website specifically for the Foundation.
Develop and implement a multi-year, College-wide marketing and communication plan.
Create a multi-year College-wide marketing and communication plan.
• In development
Expand the scope of NIC’s Marketing department to include communications.
• Expanded the scope of Marketing to include communications and created opportunities for coordinated communications across multiple channels.
Collaborate with media to publish news stories in national, provincial, and local television, radio, magazines, and newspapers featuring NIC programs, students, faculty, staff, and administrators.
• In January, Premier Christy Clark announced NIC’s $13.5M Campbell River campus upgrade. The news was one of NIC’s highest profile media events to date, with coverage on CTV, CHEK TV, CBC Radio, The Times Colonist, regional radio and newspapers with an estimated audience of 196,000 viewers. Similar coverage secured for the TV and Film Crew Training program, Lego Robotics Camp, and NIC’s Industrial Research Chair research.
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Goal Action Outcome / Status Continue to share campus
life, programs, and culture via social media channels to inform the public and create awareness of NIC brand, people, and culture.
• Ongoing
Launch the High School Marketing Initiative in School Districts 70 and 85 to allow NIC to install posters and TV screens in exchange for tuition credits distributed through high school leadership.
• Initial rollout has seen increased awareness and enrolment. NIC is now in negotiations with School Districts 69 and 72 to expand the program.
Further develop a strategic promotional material-buying network across departments.
• Eleven departments now bulk order promotional materials, providing economies of scale, better pricing, and uniform branding.
Create NIC community tent rentals to strengthen community connections and build awareness of NICs.
• Ongoing. Promotional tents now available to NIC employees who sign them out.
Promote and celebrate the work and expertise of NIC faculty, staff, and administrators internally and within the community.
Launch faculty profiles on the NIC website to build awareness of faculty expertise.
• More than 45 faculty profiles now online, with individual faculty promoted weekly on social media through #FacultyFriday hashtag.
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Performance Measures, Targets and Results Tables 3 and 4 at the end of this section provide NIC’s 2016/17 performance targets, results and assessments for each applicable performance measure included in the Ministry of Advanced Education’s Accountability Framework for public post-secondary institutions in B.C. Detailed specifications for the performance measures, including target assessment methods, can be found in the Accountability Framework Standards Manual and Guidelines online at:
http://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/education/post-secondary-education/institution-resources-administration/accountability-framework/standards_manual.pdf.
NIC exceeded, achieved or substantially achieved 17 of the 19 assessed performance measures in the 2016/17 cycle. The Total Student Spaces and Developmental Student Spaces full-time equivalent (FTE) performance measures were not achieved, with 1,606 FTEs enrolled toward the 2,258 FTE Total Student Spaces target and 360 FTEs enrolled toward the 572 FTE Developmental Student Spaces target.
The Unemployment Rate measure for bachelor’s degree graduates was not assessed this cycle due to a low number of responses in the survey data used for this measure. This largely a factor of the small cohort size, which typically consists of 60, or fewer, nursing and business degree program graduates, rather than abnormally low response rates.
NIC’s Aboriginal Student Spaces performance measure is being assessed for the first time in the 2016/17 cycle. The College has set a target for this measure based on the percentage of Aboriginal people in the NIC region’s population. 2011 National Household Survey data indicate that 12% of the NIC region’s population is Aboriginal, and NIC has set a target for the percentage of self-identified Aboriginal student FTEs to be equal to, or greater than, this amount. NIC exceeded this target in 2016/17 with Aboriginal student FTEs comprising 16% of domestic student FTEs.
The Developmental Student Spaces measure includes all domestic student adult upgrading FTEs in Adult Basic Education (ABE), Access for Students with Disabilities (ASD) and English as a Second Language (ESL) programs. NIC began charging tuition for adult upgrading programs in the fall of 2015 as a result of funding and policy changes by the Ministry of Advanced Education. ABE FTEs declined by 21% in 2015/16 and there has been a further decline of 16% in 2016/17. Academic English Language program FTEs also declined in 2016/17 by 29% from the previous year. A substantial structural decline in ASD FTEs that occurred in 2015/16 (44%) as a result of converting the program to a tuition-based model continues in 2016/17 and will persist going forward. The combined ABE, ESL and ASD FTE decline has resulted in Developmental Student Spaces FTEs being substantially below target in 2016/17 and has contributed substantially to Total Student Spaces FTEs being below target.
Overall, domestic student FTEs counted toward the Total Student Spaces target in 2016/17 were virtually on par with the previous year (less than 1% decline) despite the substantial decline in adult upgrading FTEs; these were offset primarily by increases in business, early childhood education and human services programs, as well as Ministry funded Critical Skills trades seats. FTES enrolled by NIC’s School of Continuing Education & Training in one-time, Project Based Labour Market Training funded programs were also substantially higher (51%) than the previous year.
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It is noteworthy that NIC delivered 917 FTEs in 2016/17 that did not count toward the 2,258 FTE Total Student Spaces target. Enrolment in Industry Training Authority (ITA) funded foundation-level trades, technology and apprenticeship programs was 606 FTEs. A total of 30 FTEs were also delivered onsite at NIC’s Comox Valley campus in partnership with B.C. universities: Bachelor of Science in Nursing in partnership with Vancouver Island University and Bachelor of Fine Arts in partnership with Emily Carr University. NIC also enrolled 281 international student FTEs in 2016/17 – the highest ever, up 4% from the previous year.
Environmental factors like the low secondary-school completion rates of North Island residents in comparison to the provincial average, the predominantly part-time nature of the College’s student population, and the sheer size of NIC’s geographic region (80,000 km2) present significant challenges to achieving FTE performance targets. NIC’s commitment to providing responsive programming as close to home as possible for regional communities adds a layer of complexity given higher program delivery costs and challenges to optimizing FTE enrolment in small communities. Nonetheless, the College has demonstrated a consistent, long-term capacity for achieving efficiencies in providing access to high quality, relevant education and training.
Table 3, Accountability Framework performance measures, 2016/17 reporting cycle
Performance measure1
Reporting year 2015/16 Actual
2016/17 Target
2016/17 Actual
2016/17 Assessment
Student spaces2
Total student spaces 1,617 2,258 1,606 Not Achieved
Nursing and other allied health programs 209
189 211 Exceeded
Developmental 430 572 360
Not Achieved
Credentials awarded3
Number 561 513
567 Exceeded
Aboriginal student spaces4
Total Aboriginal student spaces 428 ≥12% 372 Exceeded
Ministry (AVED) 357 299
Industry Training Authority (ITA) 71 73
Student satisfaction with education5
% +/- % +/- Former diploma, associate degree and certificate students
91.9%
2.0%
≥ 90%
93.0% 1.7% Achieved
Former apprenticeship students 94.4% 3.7% 95.5% 3.2% Achieved
Bachelor degree graduates 94.7% 4.3% 100% 0.0% Exceeded
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Student assessment of the quality of instruction5 % +/- % +/-
Former diploma, associate degree and certificate students
94.0%
1.9%
≥ 90%
95.3% 1.4% Achieved
Former apprenticeship students 95.7% 3.3% 98.5% 1.9% Exceeded
Bachelor degree graduates 94.6% 4.5% 97.1% 2.9% Exceeded
Student assessment of skill development5 % +/- % +/-
Former diploma, associate degree and certificate students 85.9% 2.7%
≥ 85%
89.4% 2.2% Achieved
Former apprenticeship students 91.3% 5.4% 82.9% 7.1% Achieved
Bachelor degree graduates 90.5% 5.5% 92.1% 4.9% Exceeded
Student assessment of usefulness of knowledge and skills in performing job5
% +/- % +/- Former diploma, associate degree and certificate students 82.0% 4.6%
≥ 90%
80.2% 4.0% Substantially achieved
Former apprenticeship students 93.1% 4.9% 91.5% 4.9% Achieved
Bachelor degree graduates 100.0% 0.0% 100.0% 0.0% Exceeded Unemployment rate5,6
% +/- % +/- Former diploma, associate degree and certificate students 8.7% 3.2%
≤ 12.1%
9.5% 2.7% Exceeded
Former apprenticeship students 7.9% 4.8% 9.2% 4.6% Exceeded
Bachelor degree graduates 3.1% 4.2% 2.9% 2.9% Not Assessed
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Table 4, Accountability Framework performance measures, 2016/17 reporting cycle, assessment of skill development component measures
Performance measure
Reporting year 2015/16 Actual
2016/17 Target
2016/17 Actual
2016/17 Assessment
Former diploma, associate degree and certificate students' assessment of skill development
% +/- % +/- Skills development (avg. %) 85.9% 2.7% ≥ 85% 89.4% 2.2% Achieved
Written communication 83.5% 3.2% 85.2% 2.8% Oral communication 75.2% 3.7% 82.3% 3.1%
Group collaboration 86.4% 2.6% 88.6% 2.1%
Critical analysis 90.5% 2.2% 94.5% 1.5%
Problem resolution 89.9% 2.4% 89.8% 2.0%
Learn on your own 88.2% 2.5% 89.3% 2.1%
Reading and comprehension 87.8% 2.6% 94.0% 1.6% Former apprenticeship students’ assessment of skill development
% +/- % +/- Skills development (avg. %) 91.3% 5.4% ≥ 85% 82.9% 7.1% Achieved
Written communication 84.2% 9.8% 72.5% 11.1%
Oral communication 79.1% 10.0% 63.9% 13.0%
Group collaboration 95.5% 3.5% 76.7% 7.3%
Critical analysis 94.1% 3.9% 90.5% 4.8%
Problem resolution 94.0% 4.0% 83.9% 6.1%
Learn on your own 95.5% 3.6% 91.9% 4.5%
Reading and comprehension
97.0% 2.9% 89.1% 5.0% Bachelor degree graduates' assessment of skill development
% +/- % +/- Skills development (avg. %) 90.5% 5.5% ≥ 85% 92.1% 4.9% Exceeded
Written communication 91.9% 5.5% 100.0% 0.0%
Oral communication 94.7% 4.3% 91.4% 4.9%
Group collaboration 91.9% 5.5% 88.6% 5.5%
Critical analysis 84.2% 7.1% 82.9% 6.6%
Problem resolution 81.6% 7.5% 94.3% 4.0%
Learn on your own 91.9% 5.5% 90.9% 5.5%
Reading and comprehension
97.4% 3.1% 97.0% 3.3%
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The Accountability Framework performance measures in the preceding tables are assessed per the scale described below.
Target assessment scale Description
Exceeded
Achieved
Substantially achieved
Not achieved
Not Assessed
110% or more of the target
100% - 109% of the target
90% - 99% of the target
Less than 90% of the target
Survey results with less than 20 respondents or a margin of error of 10% or greater, descriptive measures, and measures without targets
Notes for Tables 3 and 4: 1 Please consult the 2016/17 Standards Manual for a current description of each measure. See
http://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/education/post-secondary-education/institution-resources-administration/accountability-framework/standards_manual.pdf.
2 Results from the 2015/16 reporting year are based on data from the 2015/16 fiscal year; results from the 2016/17 reporting year are based on data from the 2016/17 fiscal year. Excludes Industry Training Authority student spaces.
3 Annual performance is measured using a rolling three-year average of the most recent fiscal years, e.g., the results for the 2016/17 reporting year are a three-year average of the 2013/14, 2014/15, and 2015/16 fiscal years.
4 Results from the 2015/16 reporting year are based on data from the 2014/15 fiscal year; results from the 2016/17 reporting period are based on data from the 2015/16 fiscal year. Target is based on percent of self-identified Aboriginal people living in the NIC region as determined using 2011 Census/NHS data. Target assessment is calculated by dividing total Aboriginal student spaces FTEs by total domestic student FTEs.
5 Results from the 2015/16 reporting year are based on 2015 survey data; results from the 2016/17 reporting year are based on 2016 survey data. For all survey results, if the result plus or minus the margin of error includes the target, the measure is assessed as achieved. In all cases, the survey result and the margin of error are used to determine the target assessment. Survey results are not assessed if the number of respondents is less than 20 or the confidence interval is 10% or greater.
6 Target is the unemployment rate for those aged 18 to 29 with high school credentials or less for the province. 7 In 2016, the wording of the skills development questions changed for the former diploma, associate degree and certificate
students and apprenticeship surveys. Until 2014, respondents were asked to indicate the "extent to which their in-school training provided them with opportunities to develop various professional skills" and used a five-point scale. In 2016, respondents were asked "how helpful their program was at developing a number of professional skills" and used a four-point scale.
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FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Please see North Island College’s most recent audited financial statements available online at
http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/education-training/post-secondary-education/institution-resources-administration/financial-reporting/audited-financial-statements.
For more information about North Island College’s financial management principles and processes, please see the “Sound Financial Management” section of this document under “2016/17 Mandate Letter Priorities.”
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